~^ 






HI LAD A 



THE LIFE 



-^"i.;' 



OP 



SCHUYLER COLFAX. 



BY 



REV. J^. Y. MIOORE, 



OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA. 



WITH A PORTRAIT, 




(S>^ 



PHILADELPHIA: ^« 
T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS; 

No. 30 G CHESTNUT STREET. 



t.'fiS 

8 Ms 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 
Clerk's Office, 
Washington, D. C, June 2Sd, 1868. 
Dear Sirs: 

The portrait of Mr. Colfax, engraved for your edition of his 
Life, has been framed and hung up in the Clerk's office, where 
many Members have seen it. All concur in saying it is the best 
likeness of him they have ever seen, and I agree with them in 
regarding it as strikingly life-like. 

Respectfully yours, 

EDWD Mcpherson, 

Clerk of the Rouse of Bepresentatives. 

T. B. Peterson & Brothers, 

806 Chestnut JSt.j Philadelphia, 



Entpred accnrding to Act of Congress, in the year 186S, by 

T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Eastern 
District of Pennsylvania. 



MRS. GEORGE W. MATTHEWS, 



THE MOTHER OF 



JffOJ^. SCHUYLER COLFAX, 



WnoSK TRCST IW HIM AS A MAW HAS ONLY BEKN EQUALLED BY HER AFFEmOM FOB 
HIM AS A SON. 



THIS VOLUM e 



^S 



s hespectfully dedicated 



BY THE AUTHOR. 



South Bbhd, Ihdiaka, 
JiT«E, 1868. 



PREFACE. 



In view of the prominence of Schuyler Colfax 
before the American people in his past history, and 
now as candidate for the Vice-Presidency, this biog- 
raphy has been prepared, that they may become 
more thoroughly familiar with his character and 
worth. It largely embodies the editorials, letters 
and speeches of Mr. Colfax, setting them in the 
narrative of personal incident and national history. 
This method was adopted as more valuable than 
any other. It does not simply tell of Mr Colfax, 
but introduces the reader to personal intercourse 
with him. 

The writer as a resident of South Bend for many 
years, has been intimately acquainted, both as pastor 
and citizen, with the private life as well as public 
career of Mr. Colfax. He has had access to the 
files of the paper, which Mr. Colfax founded, and 
for twenty years conducted. He has also enjoyed 
other sources of information of great value. These 
providential opportunities suggested several years 



26 Preface, 

ago the preparation of such a volume as the present. 
It is now given to the public with the consent of 
Mr. Colfax, as expressed in the following letter: 

Washington, D. C, May 30, 1868. 

My Dear Mr. Moore : 

As your prediction of a year ago has been realized, I 
have no further objection to your publishing any sketch, 
more or less full, of my life, you may have prepared. 
As you were, for a dozen years, a fellow-townsman of 
mine, and valued friend, I suppose you know as much 
about my history as the public would care about know- 
ing ; and although my engrossing duties here leave me 
no time to revise the manuscript, I have no fear that 
your work will not be a faithful one. 

Yours, very truly, 

SCHUYLEK COLFAX. 
Rev. a. Y. Moore, 

^ouih Bend, Indiana, 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 

Schuyler Colfax — His Birth — Ancestry — Early Life — Removal 
to Indiana — Senate Reporter — St. Joseph Valley Register 33 

CHAPTER H. 

Earnest Whig — Persevere — General Taylor — Biographical 
Sketch — Advocated for Preadency — National Convention of 
1848 38 

CHAPTER HI. 

New issues — Wilmot Proviso — Knell of the Peculiar Institution 
— Indiana State Convention — Bank Question — Opposition to 
the separate Article of Constitution 45 

CHAPTER IV. 

Nominated for Congress — Competitor — Stumping — Tarrying at 
Jericho — Congressional Chair and Conscience — Defeat — Dele- 
gate to National Convention of 1852 — Stirring Scenes 51 

CHAPTER V. 

General Scott — Whig Party — Cause of its Defeat — Hope for the 
Future — Steadfastness — Thirty-third Congress — Senate Terri- 
torial Committee — Repeal of Missouri Compromise Reported. 59 

CHAPTER VI. 

Nebraska Bill — Origin of Missouri Compromise — Injustice of 
its Repeal — Action of Senator Douglas — Thomas F. Marshall, 

of Kentucky — Enlisting under the Banner of Repeal 66 

(»7) 



28 Contents, 

CHAPTER VII. 

Final Passage of Nebraska Bill — Earnest Protest — Refusal of 
Nomination to Congress in 1852 — Acceptance upon the 
Nebraska Issue in 1854 — The Majority of 1776— Thirty- 
fourth Congress— Unrivalled Contest for Speaker — Worth of 
Parliamentary Skill — N. P. Banks, Speaker 75 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Editorial Correspondence — Closing Scenes of the Long Contest 
— Happy Result — Letter from Mr. Colfax in reply to an Invi- 
tation to Address the Republicans of New York City — A 
Golden Truth 79 

CHAPTER IX. 

Speech of Mr. Colfax upon " The Bogus Laws of Kansas" — 
Alexander H. Stephens — Holding the Ball and Chain — Re- 
nominated for Congress — Re-elected — Election of Mr. 
Buchanan Predicted 89 

CHAPTER X. 

Lecompton Convention — Lecompton Constitution — Senate Ac- 
cepts it — Opposition of Senator Douglas — House of Represen- 
tatives rejects Lecompton — Committee of Conference — 
Proposition Submitted to Kansas — Proposition Rejected — 
Speech of Mr. Colfax in behalf of Kansas — Interesting 
Letter 93 

CHAPTER XI. 

Administration Defeat— The Pure Republican Vote — Coalition 
— Ringing Ayes — Mr. Keitt, of South Carolina — Crittenden 
Amendment — Horace F. Clark — Vote of Mr. Harris, of 
lUiaois , 102 



Contents, 29 

CHAPTER XII. 

Mr. Colfax Re-nominated in 1858 — Thirty-sixth Congress — Mr. 
Colfax Chairman of the Committee on Post Offices and 
Post Roads — Service to the Emigrants to Pike's Peak — Over- 
land Mail — Overland Telegraph — Republican Success in i860 
a Duty — The Famed Motto of Augustine — Mr. Lincoln's 
Nomination and Election — Mr. Colfax urged for Postmaster- 
General 109 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Home Again — Historical Retrospect — Deeds of Violence- 
Treachery in High Places — No Offensive Ultraism in the 
Triumphant Party — Essential Change of Constitution Re- 
jected — Waiting the Development of Mr. Lincoln's Policy. .. 115 

CHAPTER XIV. 

The Opening of the War — The Die is Cast — The Heroic 
Defender of Fort Sumter — His Interesting Conversation — 
From Washington to Philadelphia via Annapolis and Perry- 
vilie — Speech of Major Anderson 123 

CHAPTER XV. 

Civilians and Military Service — Duties of Congress — Labors out ** 
of Congress — The Death of Mrs. Colfax — Her Estimable 
Character , 133 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The Thirty-eighth Congress — Mr. Colfax Elected Speaker — 
The Inauguration — Inaugural Address — Opinions of the 
Press 137 



JO Contents, 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Press Dinner to Mr. Colfax — Speech of Mr. Wilkeson — 
Response of Mr. Colfax 141 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Kindness of Mr. Colfax — Homily for the Thoughtful — Obliga- 
tions of Journalists — Use of Experience — Social Duties — Inci- 
dent from Arnold's ** Lincoln and Slavery" — Lasting Friend- 
ship 153 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Lecture — Education of the Heart — The Teacher's Vocation — 
Elements of Worth in Character — Eloquent Plea for Things 
Pure and Good 161 

CHAPTER XX. 

Firmness and Boldness — Testimony of Colonel Forney — Motion 
for Mr. Long's Expulsion — Presentation of Silver Service to 
Mr. Colfax — Speech by Mr. M'Culloch — Response by Mr. 
Colfax — A Friend's Sonnet 178 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Re-election of Mr. Lincoln Pending — Mr. Colfax not permitted 
to withdraw from Nomination for Congress — Opening Speech 
of the Canvass at Peru, Indiana 190 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Important Military Events of 1864— Political Events—Union 
Victories at the Polls — Mr. Colfax Re-elected — His. abound- 
ing Labors — Banquet to him at Philadelphia 237 



Contents. 3 1 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

The First Entrance upon Slave Soil — The Constitutional Amend- 
ment Abolishing Slavery — Important Events during the Second 
Session of the Thirty-eighth Congress — The Speaker's Vale- 
dictory 243 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

The Contemplated Overland Journey — The Last Good-bye oi 
Mr. Lincoln — The President's Assassination — Mr. Colfax's 
Eulogy upon the Martyred President 250 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Mr. Lincoln's Message by Mr, Colfax to the Miners of the West 
—The Overland Journey— Visit at Salt Lake City — Plain Talk- 
ing with Brigham Young — Speech at Salt Lake City 277 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Return of Mr. Colfax — Many Alarmed at Indications of Change 
in President Johnson — Mr. Colfax in the quiet of his Home 
Determines his Duty — Serenade Speech at Washington — The 
President not Pleased — Mr. Colfax Re-elected Speaker — Inau- 
gural — Presides at Final Anniversary of United States Chris- 
tian Commission « , 283 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Breach between the President and Congress — The Civil Rights 
Bill Passed over the President's Veto — Serenade Speech of Mr. 
Colfax on that Occasion 289 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Letter of Mr. Colfax, July, 1866, to Convention of Ninth Con- 
gressional District of Indiana — His Re-nomination — Reception 
at Home — Re-election — Response at Washington to the Wel- 
come Back given to the Thirty-ninth Congress 295 



32 Contents, 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

Assembling of the Fortieth Congress — Valedictory for Thirty- 
ninth Congress — Elected Speaker of Fortieth Congress — Inau- 
gural — Testimonials to Mr. Colfax as Speaker — B. F. Taylor 
— ** History of Thirty-ninth Congress" — Thaddeus Stevens — 
Ex-Governor Thomas, of Maryland — Popularity of Mr. Col- 
fax — Estimate of Ability and Character in Cincinnati Gazette 
— G. A. Tov^rnsend's Genial Letter — Portrait from Putnam's 
Magazine 31a 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Speech of Mr. Colfax before the Union League of New York — 
Serenade Speech at Washington upon July Adjournment of 
Fortieth Congress 327 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

Fall Elections of 1867 — Speech of Mr. Colfax at Cooper Insti- 
tute, New York 333 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

Letter to Governor Baker — Nominated by Indiana Republican 
Convention for Vice-President — Chicago National Union Re- 
publican Convention— Platform of the Convention — Nomina- 
tion of Grant and Colfax 374 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Reception of the Nominations by the Country — Filial Regard — 
Serenade Speech of Mr. Colfax, May 22, 1868 — Response to 
Committee of Convention — Letter of Acceptance — Pillars in 
our Temple of Liberty — Our Country's Future — Conclusion.. 383 



THE LIFE 



OF 



SCHUYLEK COLFAX. 



CHAPTER I. 

SCHUYLER COLFAX — HIS BIRTH — ANCESTRY — EARLY 
LIFE — REMOVAL TO INDIANA — SENATE REPORTER — 
ST. JOSEPH VALLEY REGISTER. 

Schuyler Colfax was born in the city of New York, 
March 23d, 1823. The death of his father, and also of 
a young sister, preceded his birth. He thus became the 
only child of his widowed mother, and maternal care 
had a double part to perform in moulding his character. 
His grandfather was General William Colfax, who was 
born in Connecticut in 1760. William Colfax was 
commissioned lieutenant in the Continental army at 
seventeen, and was soon after selected by General 
Washington as captain commandant of the commander- 
in-chief's guards. This position Captain Colfax held till 
the disbanding of the army of the Ke volution in 1783. 
At the close of the war Captain Colfax married Hester 

Schuyler, a cousin of General Philip Schuyler. General 

(33) 



j4 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

Washington stood godfather of their first child, holding 
him at the baptismal font, and conferring on him his own 
name. The third son of this marriage bore the honored 
name of Schuyler. He grew up to be a quiet business 
man, and became teller in the Mechanics' Bank of New 
York city ; but died in early manhood, transmitting his 
name as his sole legacy to his son, the subject of the 
present sketch. 

The early years of the life of Schuyler Colfax were 
passed amid the stir and din of the city of New York. 
He had, however, occasional sight of other scenes beside 
the great buildings, thronged streets, and wharves, and 
beautiful bay of New York. Frequent visits by his 
widowed mother to friends far up the Hudson, as it was 
then esteemed, in the famous region of Saratoga, gave 
him frequent views of the scenery along the North river, 
and of the beauty and glory of the country. His school 
days, which were in the public schools of the city, were 
not numerous. They were ended by his tenth year. In 
his eleventh year he was employed as a clerk in a store. 
At this time his mother, who had been a widow for 
nearly eleven years, was again married. Two years 
afterward, at the age of thirteen, as a member of that 
new household, which had sprung from his mother's 
marriage, he was upon the tide of emigration that was 
flowing to the great West. St. Joseph county, in North- 
ern Indiana, was the haven sought, and there, in a new 
village named New Carlisle, he was again occupied with 
the duties of a clerk in a store; but under very different 
circumstances from those that surrounded him in the = 
commercial emporium of the nation. At that day 
Northern Indiana was a new country with sparse settle- 
ments. Much of the wild prairie was in its unmarred 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 35 

beauty, and tlae oak openings were like continuous 
parks. The deer fed in herds, and now and then a 
prowling bear was shot by the skilful hunter. The red 
man of the forest still traversed the woods. The Indian 
trader still bartered for furs. The habitations of the 
new settlers and the germs of villages and cities were 
scattered over the surface of the wild, level country, like 
Virgil's shipwrecked mariners, "here and there upon the 
vast expanse." 

In a few years another change of greater importance 
occurred. Mr. Matthews, his step-father, was elected 
County Auditor, and he naturally appointed young 
Colfax his deputy. This took him, at the age of eighteen, 
to South Bend, upon the banks of the beautiful St. 
Joseph, where has grown up since a very pleasant and 
thriving western city, and where from that day to this, 
for twenty -seven years, has been the home of Mr. Colfax. 

Here, with other young men, he was the member of a 
moot legislature for two years, and laid the foundations 
of his knowledge of parliamentary law. Here, in "the 
county town," he was brought into the focus of politics, 
and also within the realms of newspaperdom. Frequent 
contributions from his pen found their way into the 
columns of the county paper. "The boy is father of 
the man." "Schuyler" had always been fond of news- 
papers and politics. When a little fellow rolling around 
on the floor, he would love to get a newspaper and 
spread it out and pore over its contents. When a clerk 
ill New York at the age of eleven, upon the day of an 
important election, going home after his duties at the 
store were done, he stopped at the polls of the third 
ward, where had been the great struggle of the day, 
until the vote was announced. In the formation of a 



3 6 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

habit so important to an editor and politician, described 
by Eobbie Burns as ''taking notes," he put down the 
ballot, and hastened on to Brooklyn, and was at the polls 
there when the result was made known. Some in the 
anxious crowd immediately inquired if the third ward 
in New York had been heard from, knowing that the 
issue of the day's conflict would be determined thereby, 
and when no one else responded, the youthful clerk, to 
their surprise and gratification, read from his memoranda 
the official announcement. Before he was twenty-one, 
Mr. Colfax had passed two winters in attendance at 
Indianapolis upon the Legislature as Senate reporter for 
the State Journal. This was not a very lucrative posi- 
tion, as it yielded but two dollars a day. It had, how- 
ever, other advantages highly esteemed by the proprietor 
of the Journal, though not so highly prized by the 
reporter ; for seeking an increase of his per diem, the 
proprietor demurred. He thought that the acquaintance- 
ship which the reporter's berth gave with public men, 
and the prospects it affiDrded one of becoming ultimately 
a successful candidate for Congress, made it a good 
thing. The young reporter humorously offered to sell 
out all his chances for Congress for an additional dollar 
added to the per diem, but the proprietor of the Journal 
was immovable. 

In 1845 Mr. Colfax became editor and proprietor of 
the St. Joseph Valley Register, a paper which he founded. 
Already he had acquired no little reputation as a ready 
writer, an able politician, and a young man of sterling 
worth and integrity. The contemporary press in his 
own and adjacent States spoke of his paper in the high- 
est terms, " as one of the very best in the State," and of 
its editor as having "a thorough acquaintance with 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 37 

political subjects," as being " one of the best writers in 
the State," '^ clear, sound, pointed and sensible ; besides 
having a big and an honest heart." 

With quick perceptions, warm and generous heart, 
finely constituted social nature, and inflexible conscien- 
tiousness, Mr. Colfax had indomitable energy and un- 
tiring industry. The Register, under the management 
of such an editor, steadily grew from a patronage of 
two hundred and fifty subscribers, which it possessed at 
the beginning of its existence, until it became the largest 
paper, and one of the most widely circulated weekly 
journals of the State. 

The Register was a pure paper. It did not carry the 
delineations of the revolting and demoralizing scenes 
of crime into the households it visited. It was the 
advocate of good things; an earnest, ardent advocate 
of temperance, and the things that build up society. 
Many a fine essay worthy of a better fate than " alms for 
oblivion," is found in its old files. Its selections were 
of high character, made from the best popular, historical, 
scientific and literary productions of the press. Sprightly 
effervescence of genial, intellectual power, gleamed in 
its editorials. Innumerable letters from its ever jour- 
neying editor, gave the geography, statistics, politics and 
history of different portions of the country. Its letters 
from Congress will give fine illuminations of the past to 
some future historian. In politics it was first Whig and 
then Republican. There was always a frank and out- 
spoken expression of opinion on the questions before 
the American public. It was wise and it was honest, 
and in the judgment of a veteran editor of a New York 
daily, " always communicated to a daily political writer 

a valuable political impression." 
2 



38 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 



CHAPTER II. 

EARNEST WHIG — PERSEVERE — GENERAL TAYLOR — BIO- 
GRAPHICAL SKETCH — ADVOCATED FOR PRESIDENCY — 
NATIONAL CONVENTION OF 1848. 

How earnestly Mr. Colfax was a Whig, at tlie age of 
twenty-two, may be inferred from the following editorial 
in the Register, of September, 1845 : 

'' Eeverses may and will dampen the ardor and zeal 
of any party; but the true man speedily recovers from 
such mortifications, and labors on steadfastly and ear- 
nestly, knowing that the gloom of the present will be 
superseded by the ultimate triumph of his principles 
and his cause. What tliough one may not be able to 
win success next year, or the next, or the next? Even 
though we could scan no ray of hope in the political 
horizon, should we then despair or yield ? Far from it. 
Such thoughts are the counsel of treason, the prompt- 
ings of indolence ! Expediency as well as honor and 
right, forbid that we should listen to them. The page 
of history is full of records of victory won by untiring 
perseverance, after frequent defeats. It tells of none 
gained by apathy or despair. The patriots of the 
Eevolution were themselves driven almost to the grave 
during their unyielding resistance to the armies of the 
British despot. Ever faithful to their cause amid the 
winter snows as well as the summer heats ; when full of 
fears and doubts as well as when victorious ; when en- 
compassed by enemies, as well as when not; when 
futigued, destitute of clothing or ammunition, betrayed 
by traitors, outlawed as rebels, with odds of a hundred 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 39 

to one against them, they labored on fearlessly, reso- 
lutely, earnestly, hopefully. A Yorktown came at last, 
and their trials and devotion were repaid by victory 
decisive and complete. 

'' 'Persevere' is indeed a glorious word. It has been 
a talisman to the oppressed. It has given fortune and 
honors to the poor and lowly. It will yet give success 
and triumph to the 'beaten, but not conquered' Whig 
party." 

Mr. Colfax was a very ardent admirer of Henry Clay. 
He felt that the country was dishonored when, in 1844, 
Mr. Clay was defeated in the contest for the presidency. 
The October and November elections of 1846 gave hope 
to the Whig party that in the next Presidential contest 
they would be victorious. Mr. Colfax, in the ardor of 
his love for the " man that would rather be right than 
be President," would gladly have given his influence for 
Henry Clay, but with the keenness of perception for 
which he has always been distinguished in reading the 
political signs of the times, he saw in General Zachary 
Taylor the available candidate and the coming man, and 
more than a year before the nomination of General 
Taylor as the candidate of the Whig party for President, 
and upon the ground that we are to seek the advance- 
ment and triumph of principles, not of men, he became 
the earnest advocate of General Taylor for the presi- 
dency. Mr. Colfax thus wrote of him for the Register 
in a brief sketch, which is of permanent interest, not 
only because of the fine setting in which is placed bio- 
graphical truth, but also because of its analysis of the 
military character upon whom the highest civil honors 
of the great republic are worthily bestowed. 



40 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 



GENERAL ZACHARY TAYLOR. 

"'Some men are born great — some achieve greatness — 
and some have greatness thrust upon them.' Thus 
reads, in substance, a pithy apothegm, penned by a 
writer who never missed his mark and never said a 
foolish thing. The history of the world furnishes ex- 
amples of each of the three classes thus sketched. An 
hereditary king in Europe rises before our mind as we 
think of the first division; his excellency, President 
Polk, as we turn to the last; and brave 'old Rough and 
Ready,' as we look for those who, with their own right 
arm, ' achieve greatness.' 

" Truly may it be said that General Taylor has been 
the architect of his own fortunes — the winner, by his 
own merit, of his just and deserved popularity. Since 
the first brevet given him by Madison in 1813, for his 
successful defence of Fort HarrisoD, with a handful of 
men against four hundred British and Indians, bestowed 
upon him, not as a mark of favor, but as a just award 
to cool and unflinching bravery, no adventitious cir- 
cumstances — no favoritism — no watchful friends in high 
places — have assisted him in his upward stoppings to the 
present distinguished position in rank that he has re- 
ceived. Every battle that he has fought he has won, 
in spite of all odds; and never yet has he fought a 
battle in which the weight of numbers has not been 
largely, often immensely, against him. Triumphing over 
every difficulty — victorious over all opposition — he 
has proven himself to be the great Captain of the age, 
and, at the same time, America's most unassuming 
citizen. 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 41 

" We are not of that class who believe that merely 
military talents, pre-eminent though they may be, will 
of themselves alone qualify their possessor for the 
highest civic office in the gift of our Republic. Far 
from it. Their tendency we believe rather toward the 
reverse. The fitness of the most of military chieftains 
for such a post is marred, first, by the fact that their 
education upon bloody battle-fields makes them too 
careless of life and blunts the finer feelings of humanity 
and mercy in their character ; and second, because the 
imperious power of commanding-generals too often en- 
genders habits of proud dictation and self-will, and 
renders them restless and violent at any attempted 
thwarting of their desires. But, almost universal as 
are these faults in the character of military officers, 
General Taylor has proved that they have no abiding 
place in his. Plain and unassuming as he is in his 
manners, unostentatious as he is in his deportment and 
daily life, his soldiers feel that they can approach him 
as a comrade with no fear of meeting the stern bearing 
or arrogant rebuke of the proud and haughty General. 
Ever careful of the lives of his own soldiers, the 
humanity of his kind and merciful heart extends 
also to those of his enemy. Witness his acceptance 
of the capitulation of Monterey, partly to save the lives 
of the conquered, and in relation to which he has, for 
that very reason, been so unsparingly censured. Wit- 
ness his message to a regiment of Mexican troops at 
Buena Vista, whom our soldiers were cutting to pieces, 
that, if they would surrender, they should not be 
harmed. Witness how, in every battle, the tide of 
bloodshed is promptly arrested at the very moment of 
surrender. Witness how speedily medical aid is sent 



42 Life of Sckuyler Colfax, 

by him to the wounded of the enemy. Witness how, 
after the last battle, he drammed out of the camp those 
retaken deserters, who, according to the articles of war, 
he could have had hung or shot. His humanity is one 
of the finest attributes of his character. Fearless and 
bold as he is in conflict, resolute and determined as he 
is for victory, no man springs more quickly to arrest 
the flow of blood than he does the moment it can safely 
be done. Within the bosom of no man throbs a heart 
more full of mercy and of kindness. Bright and beauti- 
ful as are his other finely developed traits of character, 
this one, in our eyes, viewing him as a man brought up 
to war, far outshines and outranks them all. It is indeed 
his crowning excellence. 

" The military career of General Taylor has truly been 
a brilliant one. Not a single defeat — not even a repulse 
mars its constant succession of victories. We have 
spoken above of his opening one at Fort Harrison in 
this State, by which he obtained the first brevet ever 
given in the army. Serving afterwards in the Black 
Hawk war, without mixing in any actual fighting, he 
remained in command of the garrison at Prairie du 
Chien from 1832 to 1836, when he was called to Florida. 
Amid all the defeats which disgraced the annals of that 
war, Taylor, in the only battle in which he partici- 
pated, achieved a most decisive victory at Okee-cho-bee 
over a large force of Indians, strongly posted in a dense 
hummock — a victory which virtually ended the war, and 
which attained for him the brevet rank of Brigadier- 
Greneral. His triumphs in Mexico, despite every disad- 
vantage and the odds constantly arrayed against him, are 
fresh in the minds of our readers. And while on this 
point, we would say that though Palo Alto, Resaca and 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 43 

Monterey are victories worthy of any general, the battle 
of Buena Yista, considering all the circumstances, will 
stand out on the page of History as the greatest 
achievement of American arms since Washington led 
its soldiers to the bloody fields of Yorktown. 

'' At New Orleans, where Jackson achieved so much 
glory and renown, the opposing forces were almost 
equally matched — our army was defended by a strong 
and ball-proof rampart; they were on their own soil, 
fighting for their homes, their property and the honor 
of their wives and daughters; for 'beauty and booty' 
was the British watchword — they had every thing in 
their favor. At Buena Yista the little army of Taylor 
was crippled by the withdrawal of nearly all his regulars; 
it was in the heart of an enemy's country, four hundred 
miles from the national border. It was attacked by an 
army oy ex four times its size; an army fighting for their 
homes, and fighting, too, in that desperation which makes 
brave men even of cowards ; an army led on by the ablest 
General Mexico possessed; and yet, though hundreds 
deserted him in the crisis of the action, though the over- 
whelming cloud of Mexicans seemed certain to over- 
whelm him by the weight of numbers, if not by fighting, 
yet did old Rough and Ready again come forth from this 
fiery trial pre- eminently victorious. Again does he send 
back the news of a brilliant triumph over an army of 
Mexican veterans, when his countrymen had at best 
hoped to hear that his wary prudence, foresight and 
iudgment had preserved his troops from being cut to 
pieces. Again does he astonish the nation with the 
tidings of a victory that vies, considering the odds against 
him, with any of Napoleon's. Again do his brief and 
modest despatches recount the details of the battle, as if 



44 J^ifc of Schuyler Colfax, 

his officers and men had fought it all themselves, while 
he had done apparently nothing. 

"With all the brilliant and pre-eminent talents of Gen- 
eral Taylor as a military man, his plans of policy, the 
language of his military despatches, and all his corre- 
spondence both with the Government and his friends, 
stamp him a civilian of the highest rank, and prove that 
though he has so successfully studied military tactics, 
he is possessed of other talents that would cause him to 
adorn any station that he might be called on to fill. The 
signs of the times are plainly indicating that no action, 
save his own positive refusal, can prevent him from being 
elevated, by a grateful people, to the chief magistracy 
of the republic. He will go there, a man of the people, 
desirous only to administer their affairs as judiciously 
in the cabinet as he has led their armies in the field, 
conscious that the measure of his fame is full, and only 
anxious that no act of his as President may mar his 
honor or impair the confidence of his countrymen. 
Entirely estranged as he has been by his military position 
from the conflicts of politics, he will go to Washington 
as the President of the people, and not like his prede- 
cessor, the President of a party ; and will aim so to act, 
that our whole nation may again, as in the days of the 
brave Washington and the good Monroe, be united in 
one, and its citizens dwell together in harmony. Happy 
indeed for the whole country will be the day when he 
will stand in front of the Capitol, having taken his last 
step of promotion upward, to swear fidelity to the Con- 
stitution and to the interests of that people whose votes' 
of almost acclamation have called him to their head. 
That that oath will be faithfully and impartially fulfilled, 
the whole records of his past life amply testify, and it 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 45 

requires no prophet's vision to foretell that the adminis- 
tration of President Taylor will be as happy aid as 
prosperous as any of its predecessors in any era of our 
republic's history." 

Mr. Colfax was a member and one of the Secretaries 
of the National Convention of 1848, that nominated 
General Taylor for the Presidency. The sanguine hopes, 
however, that were founded upon his election, were 
doomed to disappointment. Death entered the White 
House for the second time, and took away the head of 
the nation. The administration of the government by 
Mr. Fillmore, the succeeding Yice- President, was very 
different from what it would have been under General 
Taylor, and its history need not be recounted here. 



CHAPTER III. 

NEW ISSUES — WILMOT PROVISO — KNELL OF THE PECU- 
LIAR INSTITUTIOxN — INDIANA STATE CONVENTION 

BANK QUESTION — OPPOSITION 'rO THE SEPARATE 
ARTICLE OF CONSTITLTION. 

The Mexican war and its issues had introduced new 
elements into American politics, or at least had so en- 
larged the sphere of old elements, and had so increased 
their intensity, that they were as new. A large area of 
territory had been added to the United States. Was 
slavery to be introduced into the new territory ? 

When, during the Mexican war, the President, in a 
special message to Congress, asked for a considerable 
sum of money to be placed at his disposal for the sake 



46 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

of securing, in tlie peace that would soon be made 
with Mexico, a large portion of the territory of Mexico 
to be added to the United States, and a bill was intro- 
duced in the House of Representatives for the purpose 
of placing this money at the President's disposal, a hasty 
consultation among Democratic members from the North 
resulted in a motion by Mr. Wilmot, of Pennsylvania, 
to add to the first section of the bill the following : 

" Provided, That, as an express and fundamental con- 
dition to the acquisition of any territory from the re- 
public of Mexico by the United States, by virtue of any 
treaty that may be negotiated between them, and to the 
use by the Executive of the moneys herein appropri- 
ated, neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall 
ever exist in any part of said territory, except for 
crime, whereof the party shall first be duly convicted." 

This became the famous Wilmot Proviso. 

For the admission of slavery into the southwestern 
territories there had been claimed the fact that over 
some of them the jurisdiction of the original slave 
States had at first extended, and also that the others 
that came to us by purchase from France and Spain, and 
from Texas by annexation, had been previously occu- 
pied by slavery. Slavery was engrafted upon Florida 
and Louisiana and also upon Texas before they were 
parts of the United States. But slavery did not exist 
in the territory to be acquired from Mexico. Twenty 
years before, Mexico had entirely abolished slavery. 
The object of the Wilmot Proviso was that slavery 
might be shut up within the States already occupied by 
it, and that the free soil acquired from Mexico might 
remain forever free. The Proviso met with strong op- 
position in the House, but it finally [lasscd. The Senate, 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. /\rj 

however, was not permitted to vote upon it, as it was 
amoDg the last things passed upon by the House ; and 
previous to its being acted on by the Senate, Mr. John 
Davis, of Massachusetts, rising for debate, persisted 
in talking against time until the hour which had been 
concurrently fixed for adjournment. 

The telegraph communicated to the country the pas- 
sage of this proviso by the House of Eepresentatives, 
and it was expected to pass without difficulty through 
the Senate. Of this proviso, and its passage through the 
House, Mr. Colfax thus wrote, and it will be remembered 
that this was twenty years ago : 

" The whole power of the President has been exer- 
cised to defeat this movement. His patronage, his in- 
fluence, his offices have been thrown into the scale 
against it. Thanks to the firmness, the integrity, the 
fidelity of Northern Congressmen, his counsel has been 
spurned. True to the impulses of freedom, the popular 
branch of Congress has, by its action, given embodiment 
and form to that public opinion of the Northern States 
which declares: 'Not another inch of slave territory.' 
It is, indeed, a manly stand. It makes the pulse of 
those who hope yet to see the day when the chain of 
human bondage shall be broken, beat quicker and more 
gladly. It sounds in the ears of those, who prefer an- 
archy and dissolution to a gradual emancipation, as the 
knell of 'the peculiar institution.' And like those 
Christmas chimes, which Dickens so beautifully por- 
trays, as constantly repeating the same language to the 
poor Briton, so, wherever throughout the whole South 
this news shall speed, it will seem to every ear, con- 
stantly, in expressive language, to ring forth: ^ It must 
fall! It must fall!' 



48 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

"We cannot believe that, after this noble stand has 
been deliberately taken, in full view of the shrewish 
scolding of the organ, and of the stern indignation of 
sincere but mistaken Southrons, in defiance of the thun- 
ders of Executive anger and the blandishments of Ex- 
ecutive favor, that those who have thus publicly and 
before the gaze of the world committed themselves, will 
recede from their determination. 

" It cannot be that any of them who have thus earned 
the honor and praise of their constituents will voluntarily 
prefer, by an abandonment of their position, the disgrace 
and shame, the reproach and dishonor that would be in 
such case their only reward. If they do not, there will 
be a bow of hope to the friends of peace spanning over 
the miseries of our present war. If it is positively 
known that all the territory our army can wrest from 
Mexico is to come into the Union as free States, thus 
girding the slave States with a belt of freedom, our 
Southern President will himself begin to consider the 
war as useless ; and the advice of Dargan of Alabama, 
and of Calhoun, great, even in his errors, will be heeded. 
A treaty of peace will soon be signed and ratified, and 
the country again become contented, prosperous, and 
happy, with no clash of arms to mar its quiet, no tales 
of horror to thrill through all its borders." 

In 1849 the revision of the constitution of Indiana 
was brought before the people of that State. Since 
1816, the time the State was admitted into the Union, 
the constitution had remained unaltered. At every 
period when the Legislature sent down the cjuestion of 
convention or no convention to the people, the answer 
had come back, " We desire no change ; we would rather 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 49 

bear what errors there may be in the constitution than 
hazard it being made worse by amending." In 1828 
the political world was agitated by the contest between 
Jackson and Adams, and the people then most wisely 
resolved that their constitution should not be touched at 
such a time of bitter party -strife. In 1840 the question 
was again submitted to the people, but the country was 
rocking with that fiercely -fought contest, that most ex- 
citing conflict, acrimonious on both sides, between Van 
Buren and Harrison, and again the people wisely said * iVo.' 
In 1844 the question was again put. The waves of party 
strife had measurably subsided, when compared with the 
tempest of the previous national struggle, and though a 
majority of those who thought upon the question at all 
voted for a convention, but one-half of the people alto- 
gether voted, and the popular verdict was too equivocal to 
warrant the important step of calling such an important 
body together. In 1849 party strife seemed to have lost 
much of its bitterness ; it seemed a propitious time for 
revising the State constitution. The subject was again 
brought before the people, and a convention for the 
revision of the constitution determined upon. Mr. Colfax 
had taken an active part, editorially, in the advocacy of 
such convention, and by a large majority of votes was 
elected a delegate to the convention. 

In this convention Mr. Colfax won for himself no little 
reputation as a ready debater and fine speaker, a man of 
generous impulses, of conscientious character and decided 
ability. He had written a number of articles previous 
to the calling of the convention, advocating a number of 
changes; such changes, too, as would make the consti- 
tution an instrument of principles rather than of laws, 
leaving to the Legislatures and Courts their appropriate 



50 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

duties. These articles were very generally copied by the 
papers of the State. In the convention he was the suc- 
cessful advocate of several of its most imporant measures. 
Previous to his election he had advocated a general 
banking law for the State, in opposition to exclusive 
chartered monopolies; a general banking law, however, 
which should provide the amplest guarantees for the 
security of the bill-holder; a general law, too, which 
should not in its turn become a monopoly, but which 
should be open to such improvements as "experience, a 
great teacher in political as well as social life," might 
point out as safer and better. In the convention the 
bank question was one of its most exciting questions. 
Mr. Colfax was the author of a compromise section, 
authorizing a general banking law, that harmonized con- 
flicting views. "To have been the pacificator of this 
important measure," said the 8taie Journal of Indianap- 
olis of that date, " is certainly creditable to Mr. Colfax, 
and is evidence of his high standing and influence in the 
convention." 

Mr. Colfax took very decided ground in the conven- 
tion against a section in the constitution prohibiting the 
further immigration of negroes and mulattoes, and pro- 
hibiting those in the State from purchasing real estate. 
The old constitution contained at its opening this decla- 
ration: "That the general, great and essential principles 
of liberty and free government may be recognized and 
unalterably established, we declare that all men are born 
equally free and independent, and have certain natural, 
inherent and inalienable rights; among which are the 
enjoying and defending life and liberty, and of acquiring^ 
possessing and obtaining happiness and safety." The 
change proposed was certainly ''not a step forward but 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 51 

backward; not a step impelled by tbe out-gushing 
"heart of humanity, but a stride backwards into the 
'iarkness of past prejudice and oppression." Mr. Colfax 
inew he was arguing before men whose minds were 
possessed by a strong prejudice against a particular sub- 
ject and a particular class and race ; he knew, too, that 
it would be in vain to change the expressed will of a very 
decided majority of the convention, but he felt it his 
duty, and his heart prompted him to make a speech as 
able as he could " against the proposed measure, and in 
favor of equal and exact justice to all men, regardless of 
creed, race or color." But the effort proved fruitless. The 
convention submitted it in a separate article to the peo- 
ple, and they adopted it by an overwhelming majority. 
To the honor of the present Supreme Bench of Indiana, 
they have annulled it as in conflict with the Constitution 
of the United States, thus afl&rming as just Mr. Colfax's 
arguments against it sixteen years before. 



CHAPTER IV. 

NOMINATED FOR CONGRESS — COMPETITOR — STUMPING 
— TARRYING AT JERICHO — CONGRESSIONAL CHAIR 
AND CONSCIENCE — DEFEAT — DELEGATE TO NATIONAL 
CONVENTION OF 1852 — STIRRING SCENES. 

In 1851, when but three years past the constitutional 
age necessary for a seat in Congress, Mr. Colfax was 
nominated by the Whigs of his district as their candidate 



52 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

for Congress. This nomination was unsought, unex- 
pected and unanimous. His competitor was Dr. Graham 
N. Fitch, then incumbent of the Congressional chair of 
the district. Dr. Fitch was an able and experienced 
politician and "a good stumper." According to the 
custom from the beginning of the Hoosier State, the 
candidates stumped the district together. In company, 
they traversed the sixteen counties constituting the dis- 
trict — rode together, ate together, sometimes slept to- 
gether, but attempted to slash each other most savagely 
on the stump. Seventy appointments for speaking were 
kept, requiring more than a thousand miles travelling. 
The candidates rode sometimes forty or fifty miles a 
day, besides making two speeches, sometimes taking 
supper at midnight, and sometimes not at all. 

The candidates began their canvass in the southern 
part of the district, where Dr. Fitch was at home and 
Mr. Colfax was a stranger. Dr. Fitch made the opening- 
speech. Just before sitting down, hoping to overwhelm 
his youthful competitor with ridicule, he advised him, 
instead of attempting to get a seat in Congress, to tarry at 
Jericho till his beard should be grown. The Doctor had 
been artful and unfair in his speech, hoping to use up his 
competitor at once. This allusion to the tarrying of his 
beardless competitor at Jericho called out the vociferous 
yells and derisive laughter of his partisans. Before that 
derisive laughter had died away, Mr. Colfax was called 
upon to come forward and begin his first speech in his 
first canvass for Congress. Stepping forward quickly, 
and glancing around with his keen, searching eye, he 
took the hearts of the audience captive, as with the 
readiness of a practised debater, and with a just indigna- 
tion; that made his words sound like the twang of a bow 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 53 

that had sent forth a well-sped arrow, he said, " I was not 
aware, my fellow-citizens, that brass and beard were the 
necessary qualifications of a Congressman. If, in your 
judgment, it is so,. I must renounce all hopes of your 
votes, as I confess, what you cannot but see, that my 
competitor has a superabundance of both." The cries of 
" Good, good," and the ringing cheers th-at greeted this 
opening, told the Doctor that if he was a Goliath, he had, 
in the stripling before him, a David to contend with. 

Upon another occasion during this canvass the follow- 
ing noteworthy incident occurred : 

The new constitution, framed by the convention of 
which Mr. Colfax had been a member, was then before 
the people for their adoption or rejection. The clause 
prohibiting the immigration of free colored persons into 
the State was to be submitted to the people separately. 
This provision of the constitution %[r. Colfax had warmly 
and strenuously opposed, though in vain, as unjust, op- 
pressive, and opposed to the supreme law of the land. 
The competing Congressional candidates had agreed, 
however, beforehand, that the issues before the people, 
upon the adoption of the constitution and of this sepa- 
rate clause of the constitution, were not to be brought 
into their canvass, as they had nothing at all to do with 
Congressional matters. But Dr. Fitch, knowing the 
character of the crowd before him, and that many in 
it had strong prejudices against the negro, and were 
strongly opposed to the course which Mr. Colfax and 
those with him had pursued in the convention, in answer 
to a public question from one of his friends, replied 
that he was heartily in favor of the adoption of this 
separate clause of the Constitution. Mr. Colfax met 
the unexpected issue fairly and frankly. He stated 



54 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

the previous agreement of the candidates; he showed 
the matter had no relevancy to the Congressional can- 
vass, and then fully and fairly and boldly stated his 
views. " These/' said he, " are my conscientious convic- 
tions. If you ask me to sacrifice them for a seat in 
Congress, I tell you frankly I cannot do it. I would not 
act counter to my convictions of duty, if you could 
give me fifty terms in Congress." His bold, manly 
course lost him no friends from among those whom his 
competitor had hoped to gain, and who voted so over- 
whelmingly for the article Mr. Colfax so inflexibly and 
boldly opposed. 

Mr. Colfax far surpassed the expectations of all his 
friends in the canvass which he made. He was defeated, 
however, as his friends claimed, through illegal votes 
along the line of a railroad, then in process of construc- 
tion, through the district. The majority against him 
was about two hundred. 

In 1852 Mr. Colfax was a delegate to the National 
Convention that nominated General Scott for the Presi- 
dency. He was also one of the secretaries of the con- 
vention. The following editorial photograph of the 
convention in the Register presents us with a vivid 
picture of the times : 

STIREING SCENES OE THE CONVENTION. 

" The Whig National Convention at Baltimore was not 
only 2ifull convention, but a monster one. Every State 
in the Union — far-distant California not excepted, and 
Texas included — was fully represented, and many of 
them more than fully. One delegate for each electoral 
vote would have made a convention of two hundred and 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 55 

ninety-five members — certainly as large a body as conld 
be kept in order by one presiding officer. But a large 
majority of tlie Soutbern States bad sent far more tban 
tbis number, to wbicb, bowever, every Nortbern State, 
witbout exception, bad limited itself. For instance, 
Virginia, witb fifteen electoral votes, bad about forty 
regular delegates, most of ber districts baving tbree 
delegates eacb. Kentucky and Tennessee, witb twelve 
electoral votes eacb, bad twice tbat number of delegates. 
Louisiana, six votes, bad twenty-five delegates on tbe 
ground, baving really cbosen one bundred and sixty at 
ber State convention. Tbus tbere were fully five bundred 
delegates upon tbe platform, all interested, all excited, and, 
we were going to say, sometimes almost all talking at 
once. Tbe very fact tbat tbe division on tbe prominent 
rival candidates was to a great extent a sectional one, 
(Scott's one bundred and tbirty-one votes on tbe first 
ballot being every one Nortbern men, unless Delaware 
may be considered a Soutbern State,) added to tbe 
excitement of tbe occasion. Tbe tbousands of spectators 
wbo filled every place in tbe galleries and on tbe floor 
wbere a buman being could sit or stand, and wbo were 
not cbary in expressing tbeir feelings also by applause, 
bisses, and parentbetical remarks, did not tend to lessen 
tbe ' noise and confusion.' Wbile tbe ladies — God bless 
tbem ! — wbo by bundreds tbronged tbe gallery allotted 
to tbem, could not be expected to restrain murmurs of 
approbation, tbougb tbey always bad tbe good taste, 
wbicb tbeir worser balves did not, of never manifesting 
dissent in an offensive manner. Witb all tbese con- 
comitants, so agreeable at mass meetings, but so noise- 
provoking at conventions, it is not to be wondered at 
tbat tbe tumult often exceeded tbat of tbe Pbiladelpbia 



^6 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

convention of 1848, which we supposed then could never 
be surpassed. Congressmen looked on in amazement to 
see the convention throwing even their scenes of excite- 
ment into the shade ; and we were ourselves reminded 
of Ik Marvel's description of the clamor which so often 
reigned supreme in the French Legislative Assembly of 
nine hundred members ; and looked to see if our presi- 
dent would not, like Dupin, endeavor to restore order by 
putting on his hat and ringing a bell till its tongue should 
silence all the others. But, happily, every storm is suc- 
ceeded by a calm, and the rainbow of promise spanned 
the horizon long before the convention had closed its 
labors. 

"We must allude to two or three of the stirring 
scenes of this eventful assembly. The first was when 
Botts replied to a speech of Choate's, in which that dis- 
tinguished gentleman, in an eloquent effort, which, how- 
ever, did not meet public expectation, not content with 
eulogizing Mr. Webster, had gone out of his way to 
sneer at General Scott as ' having a letter in every man's 
breeches pocket.' The indignant reply of the fearless 
Virginian raised a perfect whirlwind of applause amongst 
the friends of General Scott, and his cool disregard of 
all attempts to cross-question or confuse him, heightened 
our former opinion of his ability. We need scarcely 
add that Mr. Choate took it all back. 

" But decidedly the wildest scene of excitement during ^ 
the whole session was during an encounter between 
Cabell, of Florida, and Eaymond, of the New York 
Times. The former, who had been ofhciously interfering 
in every thing during the convention, and who is well- 
known as one of the Southern Hotspurs, took occasion, 
daring some remarks of Mr. Raymond, to ask him some 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 57 

questions, whicli, in their language and inferences, were 
slanderous. The prompt reply of the latter, but thirty 
years of age, and so slender that he weighs but one hun- 
dred and twenty pounds, was, that the statement of the 
gentleman from Florida contained such a bald untruth 
that he was surprised he would make it. Cabell rose 
instantly, pale with rage at the imputation, talked about 
vindicating his character without the aid of the conven- 
tion, and declared that he would not submit to such 
language from any person whatever. Raymond as 
coolly as if sitting in his editorial chair, though the co]i- 
vention swayed to and fro with excitement, promptly 
turned and facing Cabell, who was about ten feet distant, 
repeated all that he had said with special emphasis, and 
v/ith a clear, ringing voice that was heard to the remotest 
corner of the vast hall, added, 'and let me assure the 
gentleman from Florida that whenever he utters untruths 
with regard to me, he shall submit to whatever I may 
say in repelling them.' This fearless braving of South- 
ern chivalry, so unusual amongst Northern men, caused 
the whole convention apparently to rise as one man and 
give vent to their feelings in prolonged applause — 
bouquets showered down from the daughters of the sunny 
South in the galleries upon the head of the brave young 
Northerner — even South Carolina and Louisiana dele- 
gates congratulated him personally on his fearlessness. 
Cabell took back the offensive question, and Eaymond 
'accepted the explanation as satisfactory.' 

" Another stirring scene was when Colonel Williams, 
of Kentucky, declared, on the forty-seventh ballot, that 
though his delegation persisted in voting for Mr. Fillmore, 
his first choice was the heroic Winfield Scott. Every 
sentence of his eloquent speech was applauded to the 



58 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

eobo, and when he first mentioned the name of our great 
General, the bouquets poured upon him from the galleries 
without stint. His concluding eulogy upon the old 
soldier left the convention in a perfect v/hirlwind of 
excitement. 

" But the most gratifying of all was, after the fifty- 
third decisive ballot, when the president had declared 
General Scott duly nominated as the Whig candidate 
for the Presidency of the United States. A resolution 
was. offered that the nomination be made unanimous. 
And State after State, whose delegates, it had been de- 
clared, would secede from the convention if he was 
nominated, gave in their cordial adhesion, pledging all 
their Whig constituents to an enthusiastic support of 
the ticket. The whole convention would sometimes be 
upon their feet, and North Carolina, Louisiana, Yirginia, 
Kentucky and Tennessee were specially cheered. The 
scene was one worthy of the painter's pencil, if he could 
only transfer the exuberant enthusiasm upon the canvas. 

" Finally the convention, after five days' session, ad- 
journed, with hearty good feeling prevailing in every 
section of it, and with an union and harmony in behalf 
of the ticket, presenting a strong contrast with the 
closing scenes of the conventions of 1840 and 1848." 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 59 



CHAPTEE V. 

GENERAL SCOTT— WHIG PARTY — CAUSE OF ITS DEFEAT — 
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE — STEADFASTNESS — THIRTY- 
THIRD CONGRESS — SENATE TERRITORIAL COMMITTEE — 
REPEAL OF MISSO-URI COMPROMISE REPORTED. 

General Scott^ however, did not prove the victorious 
leader of the Whig party that he had been of the armies 
of his country. Of the defeat of the Whigs in that con- 
test and the future of their party, Mr. Colfax thus wrote : 

THE WHIG PARTY. 

" The official returns of the late Presidential election 
are not yet fully made up, California, Texas, etc., being be- 
hind ; but their summing up will be in round numbers 
about as follows : Pierce, 1,500,000 votes ; Scott, 1,300,- 
000; Hale, 150,000; Troup, Southern Rights, 5,000; 
Broome, Native American, 2,000 ; Webster, Union, 
8,000. The total vote of the nation will foot up about 
3,000,000; of which General Pierce will have about 
one-half, or more probably, a very small fraction over 
half. 

" We dissent in the furthest degree from those in our 
ranks, who, since the defeat last month, speak of the 
Whig party as ' dead! It is galling, we know, to see, 
as Mr. Greeley saw, thousands of men, who called them- 
selves Whigs, vote directly for Pierce and the ascend- 
ancy of Locofoco principles, in order, as they openly 
avowed, to revenge themselves for their defeat at the 



6o Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

National Convention. But this shameless recreancy 
does not in the least impair the value of genuine Whig 
principles, the necessity for a Whig party, or the duty 
of Whig voters. A great party, a great cause, may be 
stricken down by foul treachery. But the sleepless 
clock of time ticks on, and brings around at last the 
hour of retribution. 

"The Whig party has passed through bitterer re- 
verses than the one which has just overtaken it. When 
its champions declared manfully their resistance to 
Executive power, and the popularity of General Jackson 
rolled like a huge wave over the country, destroying 
nearly all who opposed him, those fearless defenders of 
principle quailed not, faltered not, yielded not. In those 
days, as no'A^, the office-seekers, the camp-followers of 
the party, deserted to the ranks of the victorious chief- 
tain; but the faithful champions of Whig principles, 
undismayed by the cheerless prospect, stood fast. 

" That dynasty passed away. Its powerful and pop- 
ular head, whose iron will had bound his party together 
in unity and in triumph, issued his farewell address to 
his countrymen, declaring that he left this great country 
free, prosperous and happy, designated his successor, 
and retired from the Executive chair. In that campaign 
of 1836, the prospect was even more forbidding. The 
members of the Whig party, almost disbanded, certainly 
disunited and hopeless, fought in different sections of 
the country, like the Bunker Hill riflemen, on their own 
hook. The Southwest rallied under Hugh L. White, 
the Northwest under Harrison, the Northeast under 
Webster, and Martin Van Buren came in by a large 
majority over all. The State of New York he carried 
by over 28,000 majority, larger than she gives now to 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 6i 

Pierce, who lias but one thousand votes over half the 
total number of her electors, and yet the defeated Whig 
party stood fearless, resolute as ever. A single year 
passed by : the Conservatives, incensed at the destructive 
policy of the administration, forsook it, and the more 
readily because they saw that the great Whig party 
maintained its organization and would stand by them 
effectively in the position Avhich they took. The over- 
whelming majority of New York was reversed in a 
single year — the Empire State repudiated her own 
'favorite son,' as he had been called, and struck a blow, 
that paved the way for the triumph of 1840. 

'• The fruits of the victory of that celebrated year were 
turned into ashes as the body of Harrison mouldered in 
its tomb; and his successor, like the viper, stung the 
party which had warmed him into political life and 
power. But despite that signal treachery, with all the 
official patronage of the administration they had 
elected turned malignantly against them, and recreant 
Congressmen aiding the defection by going over to the 
enemy, this noble party rallied again, purged as it was 
of its camp-followers, and would have elevated its 
chosen leader, Henry Clay, to the Presidency, but for 
the fatal influence of his own Texas letters to Alabama. 

"Mr. Polk entered the Presidential mansion. The 
Mexican war followed. The Whig party generally took 
the ground that it was unnecessary and could have been 
avoided. For this they were unjustly denounced in 
Congress and out of it, as trait6rs to their country, as 
preferring the triumphs of the Mexicans to those of our 
own arms ; and every attempt was made, in every way, 
from the message of the President to its echoes on the 
stump and in the press, to array public prejudice against 



62 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

it. Yet in 1848, with all the prestige of that war, and 
of its annexation of California, New Mexico, etc., against 
ns, it again achieved a national triumph, and the admin- 
istration of Mr. Polk was succeeded by one thoroughly 
Whig in all its departments. 

"If others can see no hope in the future, we, with 
this retrospect before us, confess that our vision is more 
sanguine. There is yet work for the Whig party to 
accomplish — there are yet victories for it to achieve, if 
it remains faithful to its principles and its organization. 
In the hey-day of prosperity the name of Democracy 
is potent, and its candidates ride on the topmost waves 
of popularity. 

" * Each petty hand can steer a ship becalmed.' But 
when the horizon is overcast with clouds, when experi- 
ments upon the currency or the peace of the country 
cause revulsions or disasters, financial or national, the 
people look instinctively to the Whig party and its 
conservative policy for relief. When the Democracy in 
power are tested by their acts rather than by their 
name, the contrast enures to Whig success. Thus was 
it from 1836 to 1840— thus was it from 1844 to 1848— 
and thus it will be again. 

"The Democratic party has triumphed at the recent 
election because, aided by divisions in our own ranks, 
it has drawn to its embrace the most discordant mate- 
rials ever leagued together to achieve a triumph over a 
common foe. Thus we have seen the Wilmots and 
Van Burens of the North, and the Soules and the South 
Carolinians of the South, regardless of the vast differ- 
ence in the views they professed to hold on slavery, 
leagued together in the same party. Thus also the Pro- 
tective Tariff Democrats of Pennsylvania and the pro- 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. G';^^ 

tection -haters everywhere have united ; and thus also 
the Harbor Improvement Democrats of Wisconsin, 
Michigan, etc., crossed palms with those who denounce 
such appropriations as both unconstitutional and inex- 
pedient. While free soil warred against us on account 
of our ' platform,' cotton stabbed us on account of our 
candidate ; and when the State elections of August and 
October proved adverse, those in our ranks who cared 
more for spoils than principle, forsook us for the party 
that they foresaw was to be victorious. 

" It seems impossible that a party thus constituted 
shall hold together, with its numbers unimpaired. It 
seems impossible that the administration can justify the 
hopes, either in principle or patronage, of all the dis- 
cordant factions which have brought it into power. 
But if it does, rather than we should, like cravens, 
desert in adversity those principles which we professed 
to esteem and support under more favorable circum- 
stances, we would rather go down to a certain defeat in 
1856, with banners flying, than to abandon our national 
organization. With a leader of whom we will have a 
right to be proud, let us strike for what we believe to be 
right, and deserve success, even if we fail to attain it. 
Thus alone can we prove ourselves to be worthy to 
bear the name honored by the Whigs of the Eevoiu- 
tion, who preferred to stand by the right, amid reverses 
and gloom, rather than by laying down their arms to 
purchase a lifetime of inglorious ease. There are 
Arnolds now as then, but the party is purged of them. 
Our ranks may be thinned by the desertion of the 
timorous and the recreant. We may feel politically the 
snows and the trials of Valley Forge. Bat, faithful to 
duty and principle, the darker hours will pass away, 



64 I^'^fs of Schuyler Colfax, 

and the rays of a Yorktown sun will yet sliine brightly 
upon our banners." 

The great Whig party, however, was destined soon to 
pass away. The principles and policy for which it had 
contended ceased to be the paramount questions of the 
land. Other issues, greater and more vital, came before 
the people, which not only caused the abandonment of 
the organization of the Whig, but a grand upheaval in 
the Democratic party. 

The Thirty-third Congress, the first under the admin- 
istration of Mr. Pierce, made itself famous by the repeal 
of the Missouri Compromise. Early in the session a bill 
was introduced into the Senate for the organization of 
the Territory of Nebraska. This bill was referred to the 
committee on territories, of which Senator Douglas, of 
Illinois, was chairman. The first bill that was reported 
to the Senate by the committee, through their chairman, 
left undecided all the disputed questions respecting the 
entrance of slavery into the territories. Its language 
was : '' Your committee do not feel themselves called 
to enter upon the discussion of these controverted ques- 
tions. They involve the same grave issues which pro- 
duced the agitation, the sectional strife, and the fearful 
struggle of 1850. As Congress deemed it wise and 
prudent to refrain from deciding the matters in contro- 
versy then, either by afiirming or repealing the Mexican 
laws, or by an act declaratory of the true intent of the 
Constitution, and the extent of the protection afforded 
by it to slave property in the territories, so your com- 
mittee are not prepared to recommend a departure from 
the course pursued on that memorable occasion, either 
by affirming or repealing the eighth section of the Mis- 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 65 

souri act, or bj any act declaratory of the meaning of 
the Constitution in respect to the legal points in dispute." 

At the request of Senator Douglas the bill was 
recommitted in consequence of opposition made, and 
especially because of notice given, by Mr. Dixon, of 
Kentucky, that when the bill came up he should move, 
as an amendment to it, that so much of the eighth sec- 
tion of an act, approved March 6, 1820, entitled " An act 
to authorize the people of the Missouri territory to form 
a constitution and State government, and for the admis- 
sion of such State into the Union on an equal footing 
with the original States, and to prohibit slavery in cer- 
tain territories,' as declares, ' That, in all that territory 
ceded by France to the United States, under the name 
of Louisiana, which lies north of thirty six degrees 
thirty minutes north latitude, slavery and involun- 
tary servitude, otherwise than in the punishment of 
crimes whereof the party shall have been duly con- 
victed, shall be forever prohibited,' shall not he so con- 
strued as to apply to territory contemplated hy this act^ or to 
any other territory of the United States ; but that the citi- 
zens of the several States or territories shall be at liberty 
to take and hold their slaves within any of the terri- 
tories or States to be formed therefrom, as if the said 
act, entitled as aforesaid, and approved as aforesaid, had 
never been passed." 

Mr. Douglas reported his new bill January 23d, 1854. 
It differed so much from the previous bill that it hardly 
resembled it, save that it contemplated the same region . 
of country. Its essential feature was that it embodied 
the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. 



66 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 



CHAPTER VI. 

NEBRASKA BILL — ORIGIN OF MISSOURI COMPROMISE — ^IN- 
JUSTICE OF ITS REPEAL — ACTION OF SENATOR DOUGLAS 
— THOMAS F. MARSHALL, OF KENTUCKY — ENLISTING 
UNDER THE BANNER OF REPEAL. 

The introduction of the Nebraska bill into the Senate 
by Senator Douglas was the inauguration of a grand 
political era. ' The hearts of all the people were stirred. 
Mass conventions were held throughout the North ; old 
political differences were obliterated ; old parties were 
disintegrating and new parties were forming for the new 
issues that were coming before the people. Of the Ne- 
braska bill, Mr. Colfax thus wrote in the Register at that 
time: 

THE NEBEASKA BILL. 

*' Thirty years had passed away after the adoption of 
the Federal Constitution before the first serious struggle 
between the North and the South agitated the country. 
Louisiana had been peacefully acquired from France ; 
and that part of it known as the State of Louisiana had 
been peacefully admitted as a slave State without ques- 
tion or conflict. At the earliest period, 1808, when Con- 
gress could constitutionally prohibit the slave trade, it 
had done so ; and instead of its former acquiescence in 
its horrors, had placed it under the ban of the law as 
piracy. Legislation on both sides of the slavery ques- 
tion had been tranquilly enacted. But when Missouri, 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 67 

all of whose territory was north of 36° 80', applied for 
admission as a slave State, the whole North with one 
voice said 'No.' During two sessions her claim for 
admission was resisted by almost a geographical vote ; the 
North, being a majority, voting against it, and the South, 
the minority, for it. The public excitement increased 
as the discussion was prolonged. Every Northern State, 
through its Legislature, protested against its admission ; 
the South complained with bitterness that their rights 
were assailed, and the Union rocked to its centre. At 
last, Henry Clay, anxious for peace, proposed, as a com- 
promise, that Missouri should be admitted with her slave 
constitution, but that in the remainder of the territory 
acquired from France, stretching over what were then 
considered desert plains, to the crests of the Eocky 
Mountains, slavery should be forever prohibited. It 
was no wonder that the South joyfully acceded to this. 
A few Northern members, wearied out with the pro- 
longed contest, joined them and secured its passage by 
a close vote. John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, Wil- 
liam Wirt, of Virginia, and William H. Crawford, of 
Georgia, gave to the President written opinions in favor 
of the constitutionality of the bill ; and James Monroe, 
a Virginia President, affixed to it his signature. The 
South were victors of the sharply-contested battle-field. 
They obtained all the then present advantage ; while the 
share of the North in the compromise was to be enjoyed 
perhaps twenty, perhaps fifty, perhaps not till one hun- 
dred years afterward. The South rejoiced — the North 
mourned — but the contest was over. 

" For thirty-four years this compromise has been held 
sacred. During that long term, longer than the existence 
of a generation of men, the South has enjoyed, without 



68 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

fear of molestation, the great benefit whicli slie gained 
by its passage. Missouri's slaveholding delegations in 
both Houses have assisted in shaping the legislation of 
the country — her votes aided to pass the Compromise 
Measures of 1850 — on one or two of them, her members 
turned the doubtful scale against the North, and her 
number of slaves has increased from ten thousand to 
eighty-seven thousand. Propositions of various kinds 
have been made, during that time, to amend the Consti- 
tution, but no statesman, no Senator, no Congressman, 
no President, from the North or the South, has ever 
proposed an amendment to the Missouri Compromise, in 
any of its features ; much less its abrogation or repeal. 
It was considered a compact which the plighted faith of 
the South required should be faithfully fulfilled. They 
had secured by it a State, having an equal vote in the 
Senate with the teeming millions of New York's popu- 
lation. The North, as its share, had obtained only an 
unpeopled territory, with no voice or vote in the Na- 
tional Councils. 

" At last, a Senator representing a free State, though 
said to be the owner of a plantation in a Southern one 
— Senator Douglas, of Illinois — proclaims himself the 
champion in the United States Senate of a bill for the 
organization of this vast territory, extending from the 
borders of Missouri and Iowa to the boundaries of 
California, Oregon, and Utah, which declares that this 
sacred, time-honored compact is null and void — that it 
is inconsistent with the principles of the Compromise 
of 1850, and is therefore abrogated — and, we regret to 
say, this unjust act is certain to pass the Senate, and 
almost certain to pass the House by a large majority. 
Trampling under foot the noble invocation of the states- 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 69 

man-philosopher, Benjamin Franklin, to the first Ameri- 
can Congress — ' Step to the very verge of power vested 
in you to discourage every species of traffic in the per- 
sons of our fellow-men' — an American Congress, in this 
noon of the nineteenth century, prepares the way for 
the entrance of slavery, with all its blight and evil, into 
a vast expanse of territory, larger in its area than all the 
free States of the Eepublic, before the admission of Cali- 
fornia. And this, too, at the sacrifice of honor and of 
plighted faith. 

'A single paragraph will suffice to show the fallacy 
of the weak subterfuge, under the cover of which the 
slavery-prohibition of the Missouri Compromise is sought 
to be repealed. The Territorial Compromises (Utah, 
New Mexico, etc.) passed in 1850. During all the de- 
bates upon them, not the slightest whisper was heard of 
any intention thereby to repeal the Missouri Compro- 
mise. No speaker, no committee, no report, no press took 
that ground then or since. In no discussions upon the 
subject afterwards was it ever adduced by friend or foe. 
Every one understood that the Compromise of 1850 re- 
lated to the territory acquired from Mexico, not to the 
territory legislated upon in 1820, which had been ac- 
quired from France. Three years after 1850, no longer 
ago than last March, Senator Douglas himself urged 
upon Congress the passage of a bill, already adopted by 
the House, for organizing Nebraska, wliich was silent on 
the slavery question, silent on the repeal or supersedure 
of the Missouri Compromise. In his speech he never 
even hinted that the Freedom clause of that Compromise 
had been in the slightest degree affected by the legisla- 
tion of 1850, nor did any other Senator. On the con- 
trary, Senator Atchison, of Missouri, now the acting Vice- 



yo Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

President of the United States in the Senate, in Lis speech, 
March 3d, 1853, declared that he had thought of opposing 
the bill, but that he saw ' no prospect, no hope of a re- 
peal of the Missouri Compromise,' that 'that great error 
was irremediahle,'' and that 'we mig;ht therefore as well 
agree to the admission of this territory now as next 
year, or five or ten years hence 1' (Cong. Globe, Yol. 
26, p. 1,112). And no Senator, not even Douglas, rose 
to inform him that it had been superseded three years 
before. Not even the Washington Union^ with its eyes 
so intent on the interests of slavery, ever discovered 
this alleged repeal, until Senator Douglas, in his bid for 
the Presidency, avowed it as the pretext for his recre- 
ancy to the interests of freedom. 

" Nay, more. At the opening of the present session, 
Senator Dodge, of Iowa, now one of Douglas' followers, 
introduced a Nebraska bill, copied from the one of last 
session, again silent on slavery, and Douglas himself, in 
reporting on it from the Committee on Territories, on 
the 4th of January, though desiring and intending to 
open the door to slavery, dared not then declare the 
Compromise repealed. He said, on the contrary, that 
as the framers of the Compromise of 1850 deemed it 
* wise and prudent ' not to attempt, in their bills, to de- 
cide that the Mexican anti-slavery laws were in force or 
abrogated, so he deemed it equally wise and prudent 
not to affirm that the Missouri Compromise was or was 
not in force in Nebraska. But the South asked more 
than this ; if his bid was to be considered by them at 
all. Accordingly, on the 10th of January^ another sec- 
tion was added to the bill, declaring that all slavery 
questions should be left to the settlers in the territory, 
which would certainly be a virtual repeal of the decla- 



Life of Schuyler Co fax, 71 

ration in the Missouri Compromise, that 'slavery should 
be forever prohibited' there. Still the South asked 
more. There were fears that this might not be sufficient. 
And on the 23d of January, Mr. Douglas offered a new 
bill, which, in the very teeth of his report, made but 
nineteen days previously, declared that ' the Missouri 
Compromise was superseded by the principles of the 
Compromise of 1850, and is therefore declared inopera- 
tive,' language which he has again changed since, so as 
to read that it is 'inconsistent ' therewith, and therefore 
null and void. And this bill is, in all probability, to 
become the law of the land. 

" We pass over, for want of space, the point raised by 
the opponents of the bill, and already alluded to and 
explamed in our columns, that the very language of one 
of the Com.promise acts of 1850, aflQ.rms the spirit of the 
Missouri Compromise relative to the absolute prohibi- 
tion of slavery north of 36° 30', and will make a brief 
comment on the doctrine of popular sovereignty, which 
the friends of the bill pretend to defend. 

" It is republican, says Senator Douglas, to let the 
people of the territory legislate on their institutions for 
themselves; it is unconstitutional to restrict them by 
such a prohibition as was contained in Mr. Clay's Com- 
promise of 1850. The answer is a plain one. Congress, 
by the national Constitution, is their supreme legislature, 
clothed even with the power of dissenting from the acts 
of a territorial legislature on the merest local questions. 
And the Constitution itself vests in Congress, in the 
most explicit language, the authority 'to make all need- 
ful rules and regulations respecting the territories.' If 
it is so anti-republican for Congress to regulate their 
institutions until they become matured into States, why 



72 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

does not Senator Douglas give them the power to elect 
their own governor by their own votes ? Why does he 
provide that their judges, who have power over their 
property and lives, shall be appointed by the President 
and Senate, instead of being selected by themselves ? 
Why have they not a right, through representatives, to 
votes on the floor of both branches of Congress, espe- 
cially on questions affecting their own local interests ? 
Why cannot they pass their own laws, unfettered by the 
reserved privilege of Congress to reject or annul them? 
Simply, because Congress is their higher legislature, 
possessing the same power over them that State legisla- 
tures have within their appropriate limits. If the latter 
can abolish slavery in their respective States, if they 
deem it expedient or needful, so equally may Congress 
prohibit slavery in the territories of the United States, 
whenever they may deem that prohibition a just and 
' needful rule and regulation.' The point seems too 
plain a one to be contested. 

" Slavery does not now exist on a single foot of Ne- 
braska soil. There may be a few slaves there, as there 
may be also a few whisky-sellers to the Indians, in spite 
of the absolute prohibition against both. And when the 
question comes up, whether this great evil is to be al- 
lowed to darken that great basin of our country, between 
our present frontier and the Eocky Mountains, soon to 
be densely peopled, with all the accessories of Anglo- 
Saxon civilization, with growing cities springing up in 
its valleys, with busy manufactories on the margin of 
its streams, with the spires of churches and the sight 
of numerous school-houses gladdening the eye, with 
long trains of railroad cars bearing the commerce of the 
world, rushing eastward and westward on their iron 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 73 

tracks, we should have, all of us, but one answer to give. 
Eegard for honor and good faith should impel the 
South, and regard for freedom and liberty should com- 
pel the North, to remember and to heed the language 
of that eloquent Kentuckian, Thomas F. Marshall, when, 
in 1840, he warred with the Wickliffes on the question 
of the prohibition of further slave importation into Ken- 
tucky : 

*' ' I have said that I consider negro slavery as a polit- 
ical misfortune. The phrase was too mild. It is a 
cancer — a withering pestilence, an unmitigated curse. 
I speak not in the spirit of a puling and false philan- 
thropy. I was born in a slave State. I was nursed 
by a slave. My life has been saved by a slave. To me 
custom has made the relation familiar, and I see nothing 
horrible in it. I am a Virginian by descent. Every cross 
in my blood, so far as I can trace it, in the paternal and 
maternal line, is Virginian. It is the only State of the 
Union in which I ever resided, save Kentucky. I was 
never north of Chesapeake bay. My friends, my family, 
my sympathies, my habits, my education, are Virginian. 
Yet I consider negro slavery as a political cancer and a 
curse. And she taught me so to consider it. Hear her 
own early declaration — ponder on her history — look at 
her present condition.' 

" Whatever others may do, when Congress, seduced 
by Executive patronage and trammelled by political 
dictation, forgetful of plighted faith, passes this bill, we 
enlist under the banner of Eepeal. Whether successful 
or defeated, we will go with the opponents of this bill 
before the people, on an appeal to them from the recreancy 
of their representatives. Oh! that Henry Clay, the 
author of this Compromise, now scouted from the coun- 
cils of our country, were living this day to lead on this 



74 Life of Schuyler Co fax, 

conflict. But, if the grave had not closed upon bim, 
the men who twice appealed to him to settle agitation by 
compromise, even at the hazard of his own prospects 
and popularity, would not have dared to lay their finger 
on this, which, if undisturbed, would have proved, in 
its final result, the noblest act of his eventful Ccireer. 
But in what a position does this place us? When 
foreigners reproach us with the dark shadow that 
American slavery casts on our ISTational escutcheon, its 
inconsistency with our eulogies on freedom, etc., our 
ready excuse is, ' The institution existed here before our 
birth as a nation ; it is under the control of States, who 
think they cannot abolish it without risk of great evil.' 
But here is a vast territory yet unpeopled. It lies before 
Congress, like the mind of an infant child before its 
parents, ready to receive good or evil impressions. Thus 
far it has been protected by a solemn compact of our 
fathers against the footsteps of the slave ; and they 
declared, the N'orth and the South in council together, 
that this protection should exist forever.^ That never, 
while time had an existence, and Congress had an au- 
thority over it, should the clank of the slave's fetters 
or the crack of the overseer's lash be heard within its 
limits. But though our National laws condemn the 
importation of slaves into our borders as piracy, and 
hang the men engaged in it as worse than murderers, 
statesmen from the North and South join now with each 
other to break down the wall of prohibition, which 
Henry Clay proposed, which the South built, which 
Monroe and Calhoun, Wirt and Crawford, approved, to 
make plighted faith but a byword, and fidelity to free- 
dom a reproach. For one, we wash our hands of it, now 
and forever." 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 75 



CHAPTER VTI. 

FINAL PASSAGE OF NEBRASKA BILL— EARNEST PROTEST 
— REFUSAL OF NOMINATION TO CONGRESS IN 1852 — 
ACCEPTANCE UPON THE NEBRASKA ISSUE IN 1854 — • 
THE MAJORITY OF 1776 — THIRTY-FOURTH CONGRESS 
— UNRIVALLED CONTEST FOR SPEAKER — WORTH OF 
PARLIAMENTARY SKILL — N. P. BANKS, SPEAKER. 

Upon the final passage of tlie Nebraska bill, three 
months afterwards, Mr. Colfax thus wrote : 

"The conspirators against freedom are triumphant. 
At the fitting hour of midnight, on Monday last, in the 
House of Eepresentatives, the Nebraska bill passed by, 
a majority of thirteen, and the heart of our continent is 
thrown open for the free and unrestricted admission of 
slavery. The compact made by the second generation 
of American freemen in 1820, whereby that vast region 
between the Mississippi Valley and the Eocky Mountains, 
dedicated to liberty forever, has been ruthlessly abro- 
gated by the representatives of their successors, and the 
South to-day repudiates what it forced upon the North 
and bound it to but yesterday. 

" For one — whatever others may do — we shall neither 
recommend nor practise submission to this outrage. 
The North was forced into the Missouri Compromise in 
1820, and quietly acquiesced. The South took Missouri 
and Arkansas as slave States, as their share of the bar- 
gain, and the North waited patiently thirty-four years 
for the maturing of its portion. In 1850 the South 
forced the North again into another compromise, some 
of the features of which were made specially and, we 



76 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

believe, purposely distasteful and repulsive to her citi- 
zens ; and again she acquiesced. After having tested 
her submissive powers by forcing her into compromises, 
the new policy is resolved upon of forcing her out of 
those which do not seem calculated to enure to the 
benefit of slavery. The Arabs say, ' It is the last ounce 
that breaks the camel's back ;' and we believe that this 
last attempt is destined to prove that the North is not 
to be ridden over rough-shod hereafter — that, in a 
word, tliere is now a North / But whatever others may 
resolve upon, we, for one, go back now to the policy of 
our Eevolutionary forefathers — of Jefferson, who strove 
to dedicate every foot of the territories of the nation 
to eternal and irrepealable freedom — to the statesman- 
philosopher Franklin, who earnestly petitioned the first 
Congress ' that you will step to the very verge of the 
power vested in you for discouraging every species of 
traffic in the persons of our fellow-men.' We go back 
to the platform of the united North in 1819, (would 
that it had 7iever been departed from,) when the Legisla- 
tures of every Northern State declared that no new 
State should be admitted in any quarter of the republic 
on any pretext whatever which tolerates or sanctions 
the institution of slavery." 

This was a bold declaration for lourteen years ago. 

In 1852 Mr. Colfax had been tendered the nomina- 
tion to Congress by the Whigs of his district, but he 
positively refused to accept it. The district at that 
election gave twelve hundred Democratic majority; a 
Democratic increase since his canvass of one thousand. 
Dr. Norman Eddy, of South Bend, and fellow-townsman 
of Mr. Coifax, had been the successful candidate. As 
a Free Soil Democrat, he had carried the district by 



Life of Schuyler Co fax, 77 

this large majority. Dr. Eddy returned home on a visit 
while the Nebraska bill was still pending in Congress. 
While at home he was strongly urged by friends and 
neighbors to oppose the Nebraska bill. Among those 
who thus solicited him was Mr. Colfax. To have fol- 
lowed such a course would undoubtedly have secured 
Dr. Eddy's return to Congress by an overwhelming 
majority, and among the most earnest and efiicient 
laborers for his re-election would have been Mr. Colfax. 
But Dr. Eddy voted for the Nebraska bill. In August, 

1854, a People's Convention of all opposed to the prin- 
ciples of the Nebraska bill was called, to nominate a 
candidate for Consfress. It was the lar<2fest convention 
that had ever been held in the district. Mr. Colfax was 
unanimously nominated as its candidate for Congress, 
and Dr. Eddy was nominated by the Democracy for re- 
election. The last of August they began their joint 
canvass and went over the district together, discussing 
the great question of the day before all the people. The 
result was that Mr. Colfax was elected by the memorable 
majority of seventeen hundred and seventy -six, although 
Dr. Eddy had carried the district in his previous canvass 
by about twelve hundred majority. 

According to the Constitutional provision, the Thirty- 
fourth Congress met on the first Monday of December, 

1855. A majority of the members elected w^ere opposed 
to the administration and its measures. The opposition, 
however, was divided. It consisted of Eepublicans, 
Anti -Nebraska Democrats and Native Americans. As 
the result proved, it was easier for the Native Ameri- 
cans and Democrats to form a coalition on pro-slavery 
grounds than it was for the Native Americans to unite 
with the Anti-Nebraska men in opposition to the admin- 



yS Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

istration. The Anti-Nebraska men felt that it was all- 
important for them to secure the election of the Speaker. 
Unless they elected the presiding officer of the House, 
who through the appointment of the committees wielded 
so great a power over the legislation of the country, 
they knew by experience that the committees would be 
so constituted that no reports favorable to the rights of 
the North would be made, and could not consequently 
be brought before the House for its consideration. The 
Anti-Nebraska men therefore determined not to yield 
the Speakership, as it was the citadel of their hopes, but 
to prolong the contest for it until they were successful. 
The contest was unparalleled. It continued for tv/o 
months. In it, none perhaps contributed more to its 
successful issue than Mr. Colfax, by his quickness of 
perception and readiness in parliamentary knowledge. 
After the contest had been prolonged for several weeks, 
Mr. Campbell, of Ohio, who had been for a time in 
nomination for the Speaker's chair, without consulting 
with his friends, offered a resolution that Mr. Orr, of 
South Carolina, should be invited to preside temporarily 
until a Speaker should be elected. The Republican 
members with but few exceptions looked upon the reso- 
lution with great alarm. They argued that if Mr. Orr 
was once in the chair of the Speaker, it was more than 
probable that he would remain there permanently. A 
motion to lay Mr. Campbell's resolution on the table 
was lost. There was a majority of twenty against tabling 
the resolution, and it seemed as if the South Carolinian 
would in a few minutes take possession of the Speaker's 
chair. At this juncture, Mr. Colfax, with consummate 
parliamentary skill and wisdom, proposed an amend- 
ment to Mr. Campbell's resolution. It was to put the 



Life of Schuyler Co If ax o yc^ 

three parties that were endeavoring to elect a Speaker 
upon an equality, by allowing each to select a tempo- 
rary Chairman, the persons thus selected to preside 
alternately as they should mutually agree. This amend- 
ment of Mr. Colfax irresistibly suggests, says Mrs. Stowe, 
the device of Hushai by which the counsel of Ahitho- 
phel was defeated. Upon this amendment discussion 
sprung up, and the House took a recess without any 
vote on either the resolution or amendment. The next 
morning Mr. Campbell, yielding to the appeals of his 
friends, withdrew his resolution. There was freer breath- 
ing on the Eepublican side of the House, when this 
peril was past. More than a month longer the contest 
continued. It was the first week in February when the 
end of the strife came. N. P. Banks, of Massachusetts, 
upon, the one hundred and thirty-fourth ballot, was 
elected and declared Speaker of the Thirty-fourth Con- 
gress, and the Repablican banner waved in triumph over 
the Speaker's chair 



CHAPTER VIII. 

EDITOEIAL COREESPONDENCE — CLOSING SCENES OF THE 
LONG CONTEST — HAPPY RESULT — LETTER FROM MR. 
COLFAX IN REPLY TO AN INVITATION TO ADDRESS THE 
REPUBLICANS OF NEW YORK CITY — A GOLDEN TRUTH. 

The editorial correspondence of Mr. Colfax is of per- 
manent historical value for the vivid and accurate 
sketches from life, of men and scenes connected with this 
great contest. The last letter of this series is here given : 



8o Life of Schuyler Co fax, 

''Washington, Fehruary 6, 1856. 

^' The electric wires have long since flashed the news 
over our whole Union that the protracted struggle for 
Speaker has resulted in a glorious victory for freedom, 
and that Nathaniel P. Banks, of Massachusetts, presides 
over the House of Representatives. But though this 
letter will be old news, so far as that event is concerned, 
it may be expected of me that I should give some of the 
closing scenes of this unprecedented contest. 

"■ During the latter part of last week, it was evident 
that the wall of partition between the Democrats and 
the South Americans was to be broken down, that a 
fusion of Administration and Southern Know Nothing 
members was to take place on some candidate accept- 
able to both parties, and that this combined array was 
to elect a Speaker, if possible. On Thursday, therefore, 
when a proposition was read by Mr. Trippe, of Greorgia, 
(Know Nothing,) to elect Mr. Smith, of Virginia, it was 
rejected by but ten majority — ayes, one hundred ; noes, 
one hundred and ten ; and on Friday, when Mr. Jones, of 
Tennessee, the chairman of the Democratic caucus, ignored 
both the party nomination and the platform by offering 
Mordecai Oliver, of Missouri, an old-line Whig, who had 
voted for Richardson and Orr on pro-slavery grounds, 
but had never participated in their caucuses, the nom- 
ination polled one hundred and one votes. A subse- 
quent resolution to elect Mr. Banks polled one hundred 
and three votes, when W. R. W. Cobb, of Alabama, 
proposed for Speaker Governor Aiken, of South Caro- 
lina, the largest slaveholder in the House, said to own 
one thousand three hundred negroes, and to be worth a 
million of dollars. He had never participated in any 
Democratic caucuS; did not stand on their platform, and 



^ Life of Schuyler Co fax, 8 1 

was understood not to be hostile to Southern Know 
Nothings. Mr. Orr, the Democratic nominee, rose and 
gave in his adhesion to the proposition, earnestly urging 
Governor Aiken's election. The vote being taken, the 
two parties opposed to the Eepublicans, combined nearly 
their entire vote upon him, and he polled one hundred 
and three votes, lacking but four of an election. The 
House immediately adjourned, and all felt that the 
struggle was to end the next day. 

" That night Washington city was full of excitement. 
Some of Mr. Banks' friends felt dispirited, and feared 
defeat, as Governor Aiken's vote had risen one vote 
higher than theirs ; but the great bulk stood firm, and 
by ten o'clock it was unanimously decided that the 
colors should be nailed to the mast. 

" Saturday morning the galleries and all the passages 
to the Representative hall were crowded long before the 
hour of meeting. As soon as the journal was read, the 
plurality rule was adopted, and the three ballots, which 
were to precede the final and decisive vote, were taken. 
Then the Clerk commenced slowly calling the roll of 
names for the one hundred and thirty-fourth vote for 
Speaker, on which the candidate receiving the highest 
number of votes was to be declared elected. The op- 
position were sanguine of electing Governor Aiken ; but 
the Republicans knew that Mr Banks would be chosen. 
The response of every anti-Banks member was listened 
to with manifest interest, as well as anxiety, on all sides ; 
and many, as they voted, took occasion to explain the 
reasons for their support of Aiken. 

"At last the roll-call was completed. When all the 
names had been called through, Banks had one hundred 
and three votes, and Aiken ninety-three; but the rules 



82 Life of Schuyler Co fax. 

allow members to cliaiige their votes or record their 
names at any time before the result is announced ; and 
amid considerable excitement, member after member, 
who had voted for Fuller, rose, and changed to Aiken. 
His vote ran up to ninety-four, ninety -five, ninety-six, 
ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred, and 
there it stopped, exactly where we supposed it would, 
while there were three more votes that Mr. Banks could 
have obtained, if necessary, to defeat the South Carolina 
candidate. 

" Before the result could be announced, Mr. Cox, an 
Aiken man, moved to adjourn, which was not in order ; 
but Mr. Benson, of Maine, one of the tellers, instantly 
rose, and, with a loud voice, declared the number of 
votes cast for each candidate, and announced that, in. 
conformity with the resolution adopted by the House, 
authorizing a plurality to elect on this ballot, N. P. 
Banks, Jr., a Representative from Massachusetts, was 
elected Speaker of the Thirty-fourth Congress. The 
scene that followed this defies description. Not a Repre- 
sentative remained in his seat. The ladies, who had 
been sitting in the gallery for seven long hours, exult- 
ingly waved their handkerchiefs, and from hall and 
gallery rang forth most- enthusiastic applause, mingled 
with hisses from those who did not approve of the 
result. When order was restored, Mr. Rust and Mr. A. 
K. Marshall insisted that Mr. Banks was not yet elected ; 
that a majority vote was necessary to confirm it. But 
Governor Aiken promptly rose, and asked permission to 
conduct the Speaker elect to the chair, and Messrs. Cobb, 
Clingman and Jones, and other Democrats, insisted that 
the election was legal, and it was confirmed by a vote of 
one hundred and fifty-five to forty. Mr. Banks was then 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 83 

conducted to the chair; delivered a brief and happily- 
conceived inaugural ; was sworn in by Mr. Giddings, 
the oldest member; and the House adjourned. 

" The scattering votes were six for Mr. Fuller, four 
for Mr. Campbell, cast by Messrs. Dunn, Scott, Moore, 
and Harrison, and one cast by Mr. Wells, of Wisconsin, 
for Mr. Hickman of Pennsylvania. Two members who 
were present did not vote. The vote for Mr. Aiken 
showed the following singular compound : Orr and 
Humphrey Marshall, who made an elaborate anti- 
Catholic speech last winter, and John Kelly, a member 
of the Catholic church, Howell Cobb and Percy Walker, 
Glancy Jones and Trippe, A, H. Stephens and Zollicof- 
fer, and so on through. But the coalition, though a 
strong one, did not win. 

" I have but little room for any extended comment 
on this result, so auspicious to the cause of freedom. 
Six years ago, when the Fugitive Slave Law first came 
into this House, there was a decided majority opposed 
to it ; but one after another, during the two months it 
was pending, 'conquered their prejudices,' and it finally 
passed. So also two years ago, when the Nebraska bill 
was first reported to the House, a majority were opposed 
to it; but in a month or so it was carried. Now^ I re- 
joice to say, the aspect of affairs is far different. For 
two months the Kepublicans have stood fast by thSir 
cause and their candidate, and have come out of this 
protracted contest as strong and united as they went in, 
and what is better still, victorious besides. We have 
heard for weeks that the Union would be dissolved if 
Banks was elected ; but he is sitting in the Speaker's 
chair as I write, presiding over the House, as if it had 
been the business of his life, and the Union yet survives. 



84 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

Soutliern men acknowledge frankly that when a Speaker 
is elected without a solitary Southern vote, and over the 
opposition of three parties in the North, it is indeed a 
victory won by inflexible persistence and unyielding 
backbone." 

While at Washington, during his first term of service 
as Congressman, Mr. Colfax received invitations to 
attend several important political meetings in the 
neighboring cities of the East. Duty constrained him 
to remain at his post in Washington. To one of these 
invitations to address his fellow-citizens of New York 
city upon the political issues of the day, he wrote 
the following reply : 

*' House of Repeesentatives, 

''Washington, A])ril 22, 1856. 

" Gentlemen : — It would afford me more than ordi- 
nary pleasure if I were able to respond to the compli- 
mentary invitation you have tendered me, to address 
the friends of freedom of my native city; but public 
duties prevent, and I can be with you therefore only in 
spirit — not in person. 

"But a few days less than sixty -seven years ago, the 
Father of our Country, in your very city, and in the 
presence of your citizens, took that solemn oath of 
of&ce which made him first President of the United 
States. And as he looked abroad over the republic, 
which he was thenceforth to aid in governing and pro- 
tecting, as he had before in establishing, his clear eye 
could not have failed to see that in every acre of the 
national territory outside the limits of the States, slavery 
was expressly p'ohihited and excluded. No regret for 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 8 5 

these enactments ever fell from his lips, for he had him- 
self, six years before, declared himself averse to the 
institution, and in favor of its abolition ; and ten years 
l:iter, on that death-bed, which tests the sincerity of 
mortal professions, he most solemnly enjoined upon his' 
executors that his instructions for the ultimate emanci- 
pation of his slaves should be, to use his own impres- 
sively anxious words, 'religiously fulfilled, without 
evasion, neglect or delay.' He, whose right arm had 
so essentially aided in achieving the liberties we now 
enjoy, and in consummating our independence by 
the Union which followed, never appeared to realize 
that, in order to secure the equality of the States, 'those 
continental prohibitions against slavery extension should 
be declared inoperative and void,' and the absolute 
right of the slaveholder to emigrate into our territories 
with his human property, enforced and upheld by Presi- 
dents, legislators and judges; and I confess that, even in 
these latter days of discoveries like these, I prefer to 
follow in the footsteps of the revolutionary fathers, and 
to profit by their example, rather than to be dazzled by 
the new lights of the present age. 

"It is eminently fitting, therefore, that the National 
Committee, in summoning the opponents of slavery ex- 
tension together at Philadelphia, should remind the 
country, as they have in their call, that their purpose 
is to restore the government to the policy of Washing- 
ton and Jefferson, its most illustrious founders; that 
instead of being 'abolitionists,' we do not even go as 
far as they did, when the one in 1783 and 1786, and the 
other in 1774, declared themselves in favor of the aboli- 
tion of slavery in States where it then existed ; and that 
we only strive to bring back our national territories to 



86 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

the same free condition that existed in similar organiza- 
tions on the 30th of April, 1789. This is a work in 
which all patriots can harmoniously unite. It is one 
which the imminence of the present crisis (when the 
slave-power demands an absolute reversal of the revo- 
lutionary precedent, and that all territory shall be slave, 
not free) forces upon the country as paramount to all 
other issues. And if any one fails to recognize that it 
is the overshadowing question of the day, which must 
be settled before and above all other questions, in one 
way or another, in favor of liberty or of slavery, by the 
policy of Washington or of Douglas — the fact that in 
its presence the bands of old party organizations soap 
like brittle threads, and are consumed like flax, ought 
to be sufScient to convince him that the great mass of 
the people recognize it as the issue of the times, and are 
already preparing for its final settlement at that court 
of last resort with American freemen — the ballot-box, 

" You have not failed to notice that the opening of 
the present Congress was signalized by the preliminary 
struggle of this conflict. I will not weary you by 
alluding to the fact that your representatives here ex- 
hibited their realizing sense of the magnitude of the 
contest by standing firm through a prolonged parlia- 
mentary struggle, unexampled in history, and which 
could be vindicated only by an overpowering conviction 
of duty and of right. I need only say, that, at last, 
after a faithful persistence of months, with ranks as full 
to the end as when they entered on the contest, a victory 
for freedom and justice crowned their labors. It remains 
for you and the people at large to say whether this 
auspicious success shall be followed up and consum- 
mated in the national canvass, which is just opening, by 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 87 

a triumpli of free labor as well as free principles, peace- 
ful in its character, patriotic in its objectS; republican 
in its results. With a man of firmness, as well as of 
patriotism in the presidential chair, the government will 
be restored to the policy of its fathers ; and the slanders 
of our opponents will be disproved by his vindicating 
the eternal truth of our American Magna Charta on the 
one hand, while opposing all unconstitutional inter- 
ference with the rights of the slave States on the other. 
With the country thus happily and justly governed, it 
cannot fail to go on in a career of prosperity, develop- 
ment and wealth, which freedom will be certain to bring- 
in its train, until the efforts now making to blot out the 
example of our forefathers, and to extend the dominion 
of human bondage, shall be looked upon from the clearer 
stand-point of the Hereafter with wonder and regret 
by all. 

" In this noble work, with such happy results as must 
inevitably flow from your labors, you need no words of 
encouragement from me. With union and concord, you 
cannot fail. The principles upon which we stand can- 
not but command success when the public mind is con- 
centrated on this great issue. Politicians in the Senate 
may clamor in regard to 'the equality of the States,' 
which no man denies. But the people will regard it as 
a higher and nobler principle that we vindicate in our 
policy, the equality of the American freeman ; and that 
we demand, as one of the ' needful rules and regulations 
for the territory of the United States,' which Congress 
is expressly authorized by the Constitution to enact, 
that the territories shall be so organized, as in 1789, 
that all of our citizens, from whatever clime they may 
come, or whatever may be their pecuniary condition, 



88 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

shall have equal rights in their settlement ; and that no 
institution shall prevail in them which shall degrade 
American labor and press down the mechanic, the day- 
laborer, the road-builder, or the worker in the fields, 
towards the social condition of the Southern slave. In" 
a word, that it shall be the first duty of the Government 
to see to it, that, wherever it has constitutional authority. 
LABOR, the primal element of American prosperity, shall 
be honored, elevated and protected. Then the true 
policy of the founders of the republic will be vindicated 
by their successors. And then, as the vanguard of 
Anglo-Saxon civilization pushes forward and takes pos- 
session of the wide-spread territories of the West, ever 
beneath the folds of the national banner, as it greets the 
morning breeze and reflects the setting sun, the great 
central truth of the Declaration of Independence shall 
be recognized and avowed — that all men are endowed 
by their Creator with liberty, and that it is one of the 
highest aims and noblest duties of government to protect 
this God-given and inalienable right, wherever it pos- 
sesses the power. 

^^Yery truly yours, 

"Schuyler Colfax." 

One sentence of this letter is an ingot of golden truth. 
As a motto it should be emblazoned on the political 
banners of the land. It should forever gleam there in 
un dimming brightness. '^ Labor, the 'primal element of 
American prosperity, shall he honored, elevated and pro- 
tected.^'' This is no narrow creed. It is the sentiment 
of a heart, that has known the straitened circumstances 
of poverty, that has known the necessities of toil, and 
that is all nlive with sympathy for honest, hard-handed 
industry. 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 89 



CHAPTER IX. 

SPEECH OF MK. COLFAX UPON "THE BOGUS LAWS OF 
KANSAS" — ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS — HOLDING THE 
BALL AND CHAIN — RENOMINATED FOR CONGRESS— RE- 
ELECTED — ELECTION OF MR. BUCHANAN PREDICTED. 

During this session of Congress Mr. Colfax made a 
speech upon *' tlie bogus laws of Kansas," which stamped 
him as one of the most effective Congressional orators. 
Tliis speech was extensively circulated as a campaign 
document in the Presidential contest of the same year. 
It was placed in every house in Connecticut by the 
earnest Republicans of that State. More than half a 
million copies of it were scattered over the country. 
Among the laws, which in that speech Mr. Colfax un- 
earthed, was one providing a ball and chain as a reward 
for free speech if exercised in denouncing slavery. Mr. 
Colfax caused such a ball to be procured, and at the de- 
sired moment, it was brought upon the floor, and he 
held it up, as he spoke, the splendid ornament devised 
for a free people. Alexander H. Stephens, who sat 
near, and who, being on the same Committee with Mr. 
Colfax, was intimate with him, asked him for the ball, 
as if to test its weight. Having satisfied his curiosity, 
he offered to return it; but Mr. Colfax, looking down 
upon him with a smile, requested him to hold it, until 
,he finished his speech, and Mr. Stephens complied. 
" That globe of iron,'' said one, speaking of the scene 
after two years of the rebellion had passed, " was a locket 
of fine gold to the mill-stone that the reluctant, nerve- 
less Vice-President of rebels hung about his neck." 



go Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

We add the following extract from the speech : 
" In such a state of affairs as this, to talk of going to 
the polls and having the laws repealed is worse than a 
mockery. It is an insult. It is like binding a man 
hand and foot, throwing him into the river, and telling 
him to swim to the shore and he will be saved. It is 
like loading a man with irons, and then telling him to 
run for his life. The only relief possible, if Kansas is 
not promptly admitted as a State, which I hope may be 
effected, is in a change of the administration and of the 
party that so recklessly misrules the land ; and that will 
furnish an effectual relief 

"As I look, sir, to the smiling valleys and fertile 
plains of Kansas, and witness there the sorrowful scenes 
of civil war, in which, when forbearance at last ceased 
to be a virtue, the Free State men of the territory felt it 
necessary, deserted as they were by their Government, 
to defend their lives, their families, their property, and 
their hearthstones, the language of one of the noblest 
statesmen of the age, uttered six years ago at the other 
end of this Capitol, rises before my mind. I allude to 
the great statesman of Kentucky, Henry Clay. And 
while the party, which, while he lived, lit the torch of 
slander at every avenue of private life, and libelled him 
before the American people by every epithet that ren- 
ders man infamous, as a gambler, debauchee, traitor, and 
enemy of his country, are now engaged in shedding fic- 
titious tears over his grave, and appealing to his old 
supporters to aid by their votes in shielding them from 
the indignation of an uprisen people, I ask them to read 
this language of his, which comes to us as from his tomb 
to-day. With the change of but a single geographical 
word in the place of 'Mexico,' how prophetically does 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 9 1 

it apply to the very scenes and issues of this year ! And 
who can doubt with what party he would stand in the 
coming campaign, if he were restored to us from the 
damps of the grave, when they read the following which 
fell from his lips in 1850, and with which, thanking the 
House for its attention, I conclude my remarks. 

*' ' But if, unhappily, we should be involved in war, in 
civil war, between the two parties of this Confederacy, 
in which the effort upon the one side should be to re- 
strain the introduction of slavery into the new territo- 
ries, and upon the other side to force its introduction 
there, what a spectacle should we present to the aston- 
ishment of mankind, in an effort not to propagate rights, 
but — I must say it, though I trust it will be understood 
to be said with no design to excite feeling — a war to 
propagate wrongs in the territories thus acquired from 
Mexico. It would be a war in which we would have no 
sympathies, no good wishes — in which all mankind 
would be against us ; for, from the commencement of 
the Eevolution down to the present time, we have con- 
stantly reproached our British ancestors for the intro- 
duction of slavery into this country.' " 

In July, 1856, the Eepublicans of the Kinth Con- 
gressional District of Indiana again met in convention 
to nominate a candidate for Congress. It was usual to 
open with an informal ballot for the nominee. But 
the manner in which Mr. Colfax had discharged his 
duty in Congress had met with so warm and cordial 
an approval, and the enthusiasm in his behalf was 
so great, that this routine action was forestalled, and 
Mr. Colfax was renominated by acclamation. An eye- 
witness wrote : '' The spontaneous, prolonged and enthu- 
siastic shouts of applause which arose from all that vast 



92 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

a.sscmblage at the motion to nominate him by acclama- 
tion, dispensing with a formal ballot as tame and super- 
fluous, declared, more emphatically than language could 
do, that Schuyler Colfax, in himself and in the principles 
which he so ably and faithfully represents, has a deep 
and firm hold on the affections of a freedom-loving con- 
stituency. That the people will give him a still more 
emphatic endorsement on the second Tuesday of October 
next, by sending him back by an overwhelming majority, 
we have not the least doubt." 

Eeturning home upon the adjournment of Congress, 
after its long session, protracted, notwithstanding the 
impending Presidential election, to the last of August, 
he immediately entered upon the canvass of the 
district in company with his competitor, Judge W. Z. 
Stuart, of Logansport. The emphatic endorsement that 
bad been predicted for Mr. Collkx on the second Tues- 
day of October was given, and he was again triumph- 
antly elected, notwithstanding the national triumph of 
the Buchanan and Breckenridge ticket. 

This reverse Mr. Colfax had expected and distinctly 
foretold as the result of the third or American party 
movement, headed by Mr. Fillmore. Immediately sub- 
sequent to the nomination of Mr. Fillmore, which was 
several months previous to the nomination of the Na- 
tional Eepublican Convention, he wrote : " Whether the 
Kepublican ticket shall be successful or defeated this 
year, the duty to support it, to proclaim and defend its 
principles, to arm the conscience of the nation, is none 
the less incumbent. It is a movement based on justice 
and right, consecrated to freedom, commended by the 
teachings of our Revolutionary Fathers, and demanded 
by the extraordinary events in our recent history. And 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 93 

thougb its triumphs may be delayed by divisions, noth- 
ing is more certain to my mind, even while breathing the 
atmosphere of this city, where slavery reigns supreme 
in every place except the Speaker's chair, than that 
the day is not far distant when outside of State limits 
that institution shall be, as when the Constitution was 
adopted, seventy years ago, prohibited and condemned 
in all the territories in the Union." • 



CHAPTER X. 

LECOMPTON CONVENTION — LECOMPTON -CONSTITUTION — 
SENATE ACCEPTS IT — OPPOSITION OF SENATOR DOUGLAS 
— HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REJECTS LECOMPTON — 
COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE — PROPOSITION SUBMITTED 
TO KANSAS — PROPOSITION REJECTED — SPEECH OF MR. 
COLFAX IN BEHALF OF KANSAS— INTERESTING LETTER. 

The pro-slavery Legislature of Kansas, that had been 
chosen by Missouri invaders instead of the actual set- 
tlers, called a constitutional convention in 1857. This 
convention met at Lecompton on the first Mondav of 
September. It formed a pro-slavery constitution, which 
was submitted to the people at an election held on the 
21st of December following. But the strange thing in 
this election was, that no one was allowed to vote against 
this constitution. The vote was to be taken " For the 
constitution, wiili slavery," or, ''For the constitution, loiih' 
out slavery ;" no other votes to be allowed or counted. 
The following return was made: For the constitution, 



94 L\f^ of Schuyler Colfax, 

witli slavery, 6,266; for the constitution, without slavery, 
567. An election, however, had been held on the first 
Monday in October for a Territorial Legislature, under 
the bogus laws. Governor Walker had given assurances 
to the Free State men, which caused them to attend the 
polls. The Free State preponderance was so decided 
that it carried th-e Legislature. This Legislature, whose 
legality was unquestioned, passed an act submitting the 
Lecompton constitution to the vote of the people, for or 
against it, on the 4th of January, 1858. At this election 
the Lecompton constitution was rejected by over ten 
thousand majority against it. But when the Thirty -fifth 
Congress assembled at Washington, on the 7th of De- 
cember, 1857, and was organized by the election of Mr. 
Orr, of South Carolina, as Speaker, President Buchanan, 
in his annual message, as well as in a special message, 
urged Congress to accept and ratify the Lecompton 
constitution. The Senate passed a bill accepting this 
constitution. Senator Douglas, however, took strong 
grounds against it. The House adopted a substitute, pre- 
pared by Senator Crittenden, of Kentucky, and proposed 
in the House by Mr. Montgomery, a Douglas Democrat, 
from Pennsylvania. This substitute required a resub- 
mission of the constitution to the people of Kansas, under 
such provisions and precautions as would secure a fair 
vote. It was adopted by the House by a majority of 
eight. The Senate did not concur, and asked for a 
committee of conference. On motion of Mr. English, of 
Indiana, who had previously acted with the Douglas* 
Democrats, a committee of conference was granted by a^ 
majority of one, the vote being one hundred and nine 
yeas to one hundred and eight nays. The bill reported 
from the conference conmiittee proposed a submission 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 95 

to the people of Kansas of a proposition on the part of 
Congress to limit and curtail the grants of public lands 
and other advantages stipulated in behalf of said State 
in the Lecompton constitution; and in case of their 
voting to reject said proposition, then a new conven- 
tion was to be held, and a new constitution framed. 
This bill passed both Houses ; and under it the people of 
Kansas, on the third of August, voted, by an overwhelm- 
ing majority, to reject the proposition, which was, in 
effect, to reject the Lecompton constitution. 

Mr. Colfax was one of the acknowledged leaders in 
opposition to the Lecompton iniquity, as the adminis- 
tration measure for the admission of Kansas as a slave 
State was commonly designated. The following remarks 
are the peroration of a speech made by Mr. Colfax 
against the Lecompton constitution: 

"Imagine, sir, George Washington sitting in the 
White House, that noble patriot, whose whole career is 
a brilliant illustration of honor and purity in high 
places ; and who doubts that, if such a constitution as 
this had been submitted to him for his sanction, he 
would have spurned from his door, with contempt and 
scorn, the messenger who bore it ? Or, ask yourself, what 
would have been the indignant answer of Thomas Jef- 
ferson, who proclaimed as the battle-cry of the revolu- 
tion that great truth enshrined in the Declaration, which 
has made his name immortal, and which scattered to the 
winds the sophistries and technicalities of the royalists 
of our land, that 'all governments derive their just 
powers from the consent of the governed ;' not the im- 
plied consent of enforced submission, but the actual, 
undeniable, unquestioned consent of the freemen, who 
are to bear its burdens and enjoy its blessings. If a 



g6 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

messenger had dared to enter the portals of the White 
House when that stern old man of iron will, Andrew 
Jackson, of Tennessee, lived within it, and asked him to 
give his endorsement and approval, the sanction of his 
personal character and official influence, to a constitution,; 
reeking with fraud, which its framers were seeking to 
enforce on a people, who protested against it, and de- 
nounced, and loathed, and repudiated it ; and to go down 
to history as its voluntary advocate and champion ; that 
messenger, I will warrant, would have remembered till 
the latest hour of his life, the torrent of rebuke with 
which he would have been overwhelmed. 

"I turn gladly, joyfully, from the consideration of the 
extraordinary arguments to which I have alluded, to a 
brighter, happier picture, if you will only allow it to be 
painted. The President complains that he is tired of the 
Kansas troubles and desires peace. How easy is it to 
be obtained? Not by forcing, with despotic power and 
hireling soldiery, a constitution hated and spurned by 
the people upon a territory that will rise in arms against 
it; not by surrendering the power and authority of an 
infant State, into the hands of a pitiful minority of its 
citizens, who, by oppressive laws, and persistently fraud- 
ulent elections, have continued to wield the power, 
which a shameless usurpation originally gave them; but 
by simply asking the people of Kansas, under your own 
authority, if you insist on rejecting the vote authorized 
-by their Legislature, the simple, and yet essential ques- 
tion, 'Do you desire Congress to ratify the Lecompton 
constitution, or the new constitution now being framed?' 
How easy is the pathway to peace, when justice is the 
guide ! How rugged and devious the pathway of error, 
when wrong lights the road of her followers with her 
lurid torch ! 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 97 

" The people of Kansas, through every possible ave- 
nue that has not been closed by their enslavers, have 
remonstrated against this great wickedness. By ten 
vthousand majority at the polls, by the unanimous pro- 
test of their Legislature, by public meetings, by their 
newspaper press, and by the voice of their delegate on 
this floor, overwhelmingly elected less than six months 
past, they ask you to repudiate this fraud. Dragged 
here, bound hand and foot by a Government office-holder, 
who, bes-ides drawing his pay as Surveyor-General, 
acts also as President of the Lecompton convention, who 
becomes, by its insolent discarding of all your territo- 
rial officers, as well as the people's, the recipient of all 
the returns, fraudulent as well as genuine, and the can- 
vasser of the votes — she appeals to you to release her 
from the grasp of this despot and dictator, and to let her 
go free. In the language of an eloquent and gifted 
orator of my own State, I say: ' When she comes to us, 
let it be as a willing bride, and not as a fettered and 
manacled slave.'" 

The following letters from the editorial correspondence 
of Mr. Colfax, lift for us the veil of the past, and give 
us distinct and vivid views, both in the Senate and 
House of .Representatives, of the intense interest attend- 
ing the discussion in Congress of the Lecompton ques- 
tion. 

" Washington, March 25, 1868. 

"The past week has been full of excitement here, and 
a letter in regard to it may not be misspent time. 

" The galleries and floor of the Senate have been con- 
stantly filled during its daytime and night sessions, to 
listen to the debates on the subject which engrosses all 



98 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

minds. The Lecompton fraud has been most thoroughly 
discussed there from almost every possible standpoint 
of argument. Some of its friends have argued that it 
was fairly submitted to the people, others that the 
slavery clause alone was actually submitted, and that 
no other part of it needed to be, and others, like Mr. 
Bright, took the bold ground that submitting constitu- 
tions to a vote of the people who are to live under them 
is not in accordance with the true principles of our 
Government — a new kind of Democracy, as it seems to 
me. But all agreed that Lecompton must be fastened 
upon the new State of Kansas at all hazards, and all 
united, however variant their other arguments, in scout- 
ing the ten thousand majority against it, at the election 
ordered by the Governor and Legislature of the terri- 
tory. 

''Last Saturday night, according to the agreement 
between the Republican and Democratic members, the 
debate closed on the part of the former. General Wilson 
making the final speech on their behalf. The attendance 
was very large, and the vigorous and telling speech of 
the Massachusetts Senator more than repaid them for 
their presence. It was a fitting conclusion of an able 
debate. 

"On Monday, Judge Douglas, who had been very 
sick during the past fortnight, was to speak, if able to do 
so. And at nine A. M., a large crowd was in attendance. 
The day, however, was consumed by other speeches of 
the Democratic party. Messrs. Stuart and Broderick, 
(anti-Lecompton,)and Bayard of Delaware-, (Lecompton,) 
and Messrs. Green and Wilson, who had charge of the, 
order of debate, by resolution of the Democratic and 
Republican caucuses, fixed on seven o'clock that even- 
ing as the hour when the Illinois Senator was to take 






Life of Schuyler Colfax, - 99 

tlie floor. I went there at half-past six, (the Senate took 
a recess for dinner from five to seven p. M.,) and saw- 
such a crowd as I had never before seen there. People 
did not attempt to sit, except a few of the fair sex, but) 
were packed together as closely as it was possible for 
ihem to stand, on the floor, in the galleries, on the window 
sills, on the top of railings, and in fact wherever a foot 
could be planted. Crinoline was crushed sadly, and 
though many kept their seats, when they had been so 
fortunate as to get them, from nine in the morning till 
the close of the debate at eleven P. M., I saw many of 
the oldest members of the House apparently glad to 
obtain seats on the carpeted floor. The officers of the 
Senate say that such a mass of living, breathing hu- 
manity was never before crowded into the chamber 

"A little before seven, the speaker, whose remarks 
such a multitude were assembled to hear, forced his way 
through the mass outside into the Senate chamber, and 
was greeted with a very unsenatorial round of applause 
from the galleries as he entered the room. He was pale, 
and looked in impaired health, but very determined, 
and in a few minutes commenced his speech. 

'' I have not time to go over its leading points, which 
the telegraph has doubtless given you. But his bold 
denunciations of Executive dictation and proscription, 
his scarification of the Regent Calhoun, and his fore- 
shadowing of the future attempts to force slavery into 
the free States by the men who defend and endorse 
the Lecompton provision, that the right of property in^ 
•slaves is higher and above all constitutional sanction,' 
and his preference of private life, with self-respect, ta 
public life with the advocacy of such a wicked fraud as 
this, were listened to by the Lecompton champions with 
evident displeasure and bitterness. 



lOO Life of Schuyler Colfax, 



"When he resumed his seat, thoroughly exhausted, 
Toombs rose, and, in a passionate harangue, which would 
surprise even a l^ammany Hall audience by its manner 
and matter, replied with the most offensive denunciation, 
going out of his way to brand all who opposed Lecomp- 
ton as hypocrites, facile instruments, etc., etc. The 
Senators who had been so quick in calling Douglas to 
order during the debates at the opening of the session, 
looked on with pleased complacency, and the Yice- 
President did not see fit to check him. But after he 
finished, Stuart arose, and in severe but parliamentary 
language, rebuked him as the occasion required. 

" The bill finally passed the next day by eight majority. 
Allen, of Ehode Island, and Jones, of Iowa, violating 
their instructions ; the two New Jersey Democratic Sena- 
tors, misrepresenting the known will of their State, and 
the two ' acting Senators from Indiana,' fittingly swell- 
ing the vote in favor of this fraud upon the people of 
Kansas. It will be several days before there will be a 
vote upon it in the House, and, without changing the 
opinion expressed in my last week's letter, I will let 
that, when it comes, speak for itself. 

" Last Saturday I spoke in the House in opposition to 
this villiany, and, at the opening, responded to a direct 
question propounded to me by Mr. Barksdale, of Missis- 
sippi, the previous speaker. But the telegraph to the 
Chicago papers of Monday, which I have just received, 
so utterly jumbles up what I did say, that I feel 
prompted to correct it at once. It says : 

" ' Mr. Colfax, in response to Mr. Barksdale, said he 
would vote for the admission of Kansas as a free State, 
if her people came here with a slave constitution. He 
had made that declaration when the Missouri Compro- 






Life of Schuyler Colfax. loi 

mise was repealed, but lie placed his objection on graver 
grounds.' 

'' What I did say was, that after the slave power had 
demanded the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, I 
had resolved never to vote for the admission of Kansas 
as a slave State under any contingency ; and that I ad- 
hered to this position still. If the people had been 
dragooned by the army and the officers of the Govern- 
ment into submission to such a constitution, it should 
never be ratified by my vote. As it is now, however, 
with their gallant spirit and devotion to freedom un- 
broken, I would far rather submit this Lecompton fraud 
to their verdict and decision, confident that they would 
reject it overwhelmingly, than to risk it before this 
Congress, over which the slave power and the Execu- 
tive exercise such malign power and influence. Know- 
ing that the people of Kansas long for an opportunity 
to crush out this Lecompton swindle, I should be willing 
to refer it back to them for that fair and full vote upon 
it which its framers, from the same conviction, denied to 
them, on condition that, if they reject it, they should 
have the consent and authority of Congress given them 
in advance, to go on and frame the free State constitu- 
tion which they desire. There would be no more risk 
in that, if an honest election was provided for, than there 
would be in submitting the question of freedom or 
slavery to the people of Massachusetts. But if the army 
and office-holders of the Government there had suc- 
ceeded in so breaking the spirit and crushing the prin- 
ciples of the free State majority there, (as they have 
ineffectually labored to do,) that they would consent 
against their known convictions and expressed resolves, 
to accept this iniquity as their organic law, I would not 

even do that." 
G 



I02 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 



CHAPTERXI. 

ADMI^TISTRATION DEFEAT — THE PURE REPUBLICAN VOTE 
— COALITION — RINGING AYES — MR. KEITT OF SOUTH 

• CAROLINA — CRITTENDEN AMENDMENT — HORACE F. 
CLARK — VOTE OF MR. HARRIS OF ILLINOIS. 

The letter of this chapter delineates graphically the 
intense interest attending the Lecorapton struggle in the 
House of Kepresentatives : 

"Washington, April, 1858. 
" The administration has just met another defeat on 
its pet Lecompton measure in the House of Kepre- 
sentatives. It, too, has been the most signal reverse of 
all, exceeding in its importance and significance the 
three previous rebukes which the House had given to 
the President. The day for this decisive vote had been 
fixed by the Lecomptonites themselves. Every appli- 
ance had been unscrupulously used to secure a victory. 
Every possible appeal had been made to the members 
whose votes were supposed to be in any manner attain- 
able. The President himself had- sent for the refractory 
members from his own State, and besought them to save 
him from defeat. But every one stood firm, except 
Dewart, of the Schuylkill district, who could not with- 
stand the President's tears. The Union, which has been 
threatening and imploring by terms, declared this morn- 
ing that any Democrat who voted against Lecompton 
could not longer expect to be ' allowed to remain within 
its organization,' but * must expect both to be regarded 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 103 

and dealt with as its enemy.' Both sides claimed to be 
confident of victory, but the anti-Lecomptons knew that 
theirs was to be the triumph of to-day. 

"At noon, when the Speaker took his chair, the 
galleries, which will seat two thousand persons, were 
crowded to their utmost capacity ; and on the floor of 
the hall every seat seemed to be occupied — an unusual 
sight. Every one looked interested, and even excited ; 
and many of them, on each side of the House, as if they 
had had but little rest during the past few days or 
nights. ' The morning hour,' which really is an after- 
noon one, from twelve to one P. M., was occupied with 
the ordinary business of the House, which few listened 
to ; and exactly at one P. M., Mr. Stephens, of Georgia, 
the Lecompton leader, rose, and moved to take up the 
Lecompton bill. It was read the first time, when up 
rose the venerable Joshua K. Giddings, and moved that 
it be rejected. For that motion, ninety-two Republicans 
and three Democrats (Harris, of Illinois, Chapman and 
Hickman, of Pennsylvania) voted ; but it was, of course, 
voted down by a large majority. The Republican mi- 
nority of the House, having thus endeavored to destroy 
the bill utterly, and having failed, were in a condition, 
without even apparent inconsistency, to unite with other 
but less decided enemies of the Lecompton fraud in any 
practicable measure to thwart the President in his deter- 
mination to impose it upon a protesting people. 

" The bill was read the second time, and Mr. Mont- 
gomery, of Pennsylvania, who had been agreed on for 
that purpose, rose and moved to strike out the whole 
bill after the enacting clause, and insert the Crittenden 
proposition, as modified and improved by conferences of 
the three wings of the opposition in the House — the Re- 



104 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

publicans, Douglas Democrats and Americans. Greneral 
Quitman then moved to amend the amendment by inserting 
the Senate bill with the Pugh amendment struck out. The 
previous question was moved and seconded ; for every 
one felt that this was an hour for action, not debate. 
First, Quitman's amendment failed, though two-thirds 
of the Lecomptonites voted for it, (ninety-two out of one 
hundred and twelve,) showing that they did not regard 
the people of Kansas as being authorized, even by 
resolution, to change their constitution till after 1864. 
And then came the test vote, during the progress of 
which that vast audience was so hushed to silence that, 
for the first time during this session, I was enabled at my 
seat to hear every response as it was uttered, even from 
the farthest extremity of the hall on the other side. A 
close observer could have detected, in the manner of 
these responses, which was to be the victorious party. 
The Lecomptonites, since they came into the hall, 
had lost their hope of a tie vote, with the Speaker 
to untie it ; and their noes were uttered coldly, indig- 
nantly, and sometimes sullenly; while the ayes rang out 
from the anti-Lecomptonites clearly, distinctly, emphat- 
ically, as if they came from cheerful, hopeful hearts. 
Scarcely had the last name been called, when every one 
in the House and galleries knew, without waiting for 
the reading of the list of names and the annunciation by 
the Speaker, that the anti-Lecompton forces had tri- 
umphed by eight majority ; and when the Speaker arose, 
with evident feeling, and announced, as calmly as pos- 
sible, the defeat of his friends, a round of irrepressible 
applause rung from the galleries. Instantly, Mr. Keitt, 
of South Carolina, who is unused to hearing that kind 
of applause here at Washington, demanded, in an ex- 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 105 

cited tone, that the gentlemen's galleries should be cleared 
at once. He forgot that, last week, when a New England 
Lecomptonite was making his speech, those same gal- 
leries, then occupied by refugees from Kansas and clerks 
of the Government, applauded three times, and until 
Mr. Kilgore rebuked them, desiring to know if pen- 
sioned officers of the administration had been placed 
there to cheer on the allies. But the Speaker, who must 
have remembered that his indignant colleague made no 
objection to that, declined ordering the rule to be en- 
forced until a second offence should render it necessary. 

"This episode over, Mr. Montgomery now called for 
a separate vote on ihQ preamble to the original bill, which, 
as his bill was a substitute, to come in immediately after 
the enacting clause, could only be reached in that way. 
The objectionable features in the preamble were, that it 
declared the people of Kansas had made this constitu- 
tion, and that it was republican in form. But the 
Speaker decided that the House could not have a separate 
vote on this, though they could on the title of the bill — 
a wrong decision, I think ; but, having thus clearly 
expressed the dissent of the opposition to these assump- 
tions of the preamble, the bill passed by one hundred 
and twenty to one hundred and twelve, eight majority, 
and the House immediately adjourned. The instant 
the Speaker announced the adjournment, and the hall 
became again ^a free hall,' untrammelled by Congres- 
sional rules, the pent-up feelings of the galleries broke 
out in a hearty, earnest round of enthusiastic applause. 

"And thus my predictions, against which you ex- 
pressed, editorially, your lack of confidence, have been 
verified. I do not wonder at your doubts, for we have 
had them here also ; and, considering the odds against 



io6 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

us, it is wonderful that the administration has been 
overthrown. But for a fortnight — indeed, ever since I 
wrote you that it looked as if the possibility of its defeat 
had ripened into a prohahility — I have been confident of 
success ; so confident, indeed, that when I spoke on the 
20th of March, I took that occasion to say that peace, 
which all parties professed to seek, could be best secured 
by submitting to the people of Kansas the plain question 
whether they preferred the Lecompton constitution or a 
new one. Of the result of that vote, no candid man in 
the whole land entertains a shadow of a doubt. 

''The Crittenden amendment, thus passed, admits 
Kansas as a State, refers Lecompton back to a vote of 
the people of Kansas, under the supervision of a Board, 
composed of the Governor and Secretary of the Terri- 
tory and the two Free State Speakers of the Territorial 
Legislature, three of whom are necessary for a quorum. 
If Lecompton is rejected, a new convention is to be 
elected, a new constitution framed, and submitted to the 
people. Either one which is adopted by them, is to be 
the organic law ; and, the vote being certified to the 
President by a majority of the Board, he is to declare 
Kansas in the Union by a public proclamation. 

"Fair as this is, withdrawing the whole subject from 
Congress, 'localizing' all the trouble as the administra- 
tion professed to desire, in advocating Lecompton, pro- 
posed by a conservative Southern statesman, and which 
only seeks to ascertain and carry out the popular will, 
the administration leaders will not yield to it. They 
insisted to-day, in conversations with our side, that the' 
Senate would refuse to concur, and that the House 
would be forced to yield its concurrence. I make no 
predictions in regard to the future ; but whoever of the 



^ Life of Schuyler Colfax, 107 

one hundred and twenty consents to be dragooned into 
submission and to abandon a fair measure, which accom- 
plishes all that the administration has professed to 
desire, at the dictation of the President, the Senate, or 
the border-ruffians of Kansas, or yields to other appeals, 
deserves ' to sink so low that the hand of resurrection 
will never reach him.' Many Eepublicans would have 
preferred not to vote for any bill whereby there could 
be the slightest possibility, in the remotest degree, of 
Kansas being made a slave State; but, having performed 
their duty to their principles in attempting to reject the 
Senate's bill utterly and entirely, and it being evident 
that this or Lecompton would pass, they resolved to a 
man, from Mr. Giddings down to the least anti-slavery 
member of all, that, as political legislators, it was their 
duty to go with the other wings of the opposition for 
the Crittenden amendment, especially as Governor Rob- 
inson, Mr. Parrott, the delegate from Kansas, and every 
other Free State man here from that territory, gave it 
their cordial support, and guaranteed the hoped-for 
result there. 

"The one hundred and twenty votes of which the 
majority was composed consisted of ninety-two Repub- 
licans, {every man whom the people had elected being in 
his seat, without a single exception,) twenty-two anti- 
Lecompton Democrats, and six Americans, being dele- 
gates from Kentucky, Maryland and North Carolina. 
The eight Americans from Tennessee, Missouri, Georgia 
and Louisiana, voted with the administration. Messrs. 
English, Foley, and J. G. Davis, of Indiana, voted 
anti-Lecompton. Indeed, of the fifty-odd Representa- 
tives from the States northwest of the Ohio, only five 
voted with the Lecomptonites. Mr. English had been 



io8 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

endeavoring to reunite the party, but found lie could 
not do it, except on the basis of subniission ; and even 
if he had been, willing to accept that; as he declared 
that he would not, no other anti-Lecompton Democrat 
would have gone with him, and it would have been 
fruitless. He voted with the anti-Lecomptonites to-day 
on every decision; but it will be no injustice to him to 
say that his repeated efforts to bridge the gulf between 
the two wings of the Democracy indicate that he is less 
decided and unyielding than the rest of them. 

" The President sent, through one of the Cabinet, to 
Horace F. Clark, of New York, one of the anti-Lecomp- 
tonites, desiring to see him. The firm New Yorker, 
who has withstood appeals that would shake almost any 
one else, sent back word that he would be gratified to 
meet the President, but it must be after the Lecompton 
question was finally settled, not before. This is the cur- 
rent rumor here, and doubtless true. 

"A single sentence more before I conclude this hasty 
letter. Mr. Harris, of Illinois, is far gone in consump- 
tion, and has been bleeding from the lungs in the sick- 
room ever since the last encounter in the House on the 
outrageous conduct of the Kansas Select Committee, 
where he acted as the anti-Lecompton leader. When he 
entered the House, exactly five minutes before one 
o'clock, with feeble step, leaning on the arm of his col- 
league, Morris, a thrill ran through the House. He 
could have been spared, but refused, and declared that, 
if it cost him his life, he should be in his seat to vote 
his utter condemnation of this shameless iniquity. When 
one, who has been for years a Hebrew of the Hebrews 
in his devotion to his party, of which he has been an 
active leader, thus perils his life to record his hostility 



Ijife of Schuyler Colfax, 109 

to this tyranny, ought not the people, who love justice 
and hate wrong, to imitate his example and emulate his 
patriotism, which rises higher than party, and is willingj 
to give his life as a dying protest against it." 



CHAPTEll XII. 

MR. COLFAX EE-NOMINATED IN 1858 — THIRTY-SIXTH 
CONGRESS — MR. COLFAX CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMIT- 
TEE ON THE POST OFFICE AND POST ROADS — SERVICE 
TO THE EMIGRANTS TO PIKE'S PEAK — OVERLAND MAIL 
— OVERLAND TELEGRAPH — REPUBLICAN SUCCESS IN 
1860 A DUTY — THE FAMED MOTTO OF AUGUSTINE — • 
MR. LINCOLN'S NOMINATION AND ELECTION — MR. 
COLFAX URGED FOR POSTMASTER-GENERAL. 

In 1858 Mr. Colfax was again nominated to Congress 
by acclamation, and triumphantly elected. And this 
has been the method in which he has been nominated 
and elected from the beginning of his Congressional 
career, carrying his district against the most untiring 
and gigantic eftbrts to defeat him; efforts made not only 
by the members of the Democratic party resident within 
the district, but by the leaders and rulers of that party 
throughout the nation. Presidential power and patron- 
age have been employed with their might against him, 
but in vain. He was the people's candidate; a pure, 
honest faithful, conscientious man; an indefatigable^ 
worker ; always alive to the interests of his constituents; 
kind, genial and affable in his mingling with the people; 



no Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

a persuasive orator, kindling the enthusiasm of his hear- 
ers; unyielding in his adherence to his conscientious 
convictions ; an unsullied patriot ; a statesman with a 
policy that is synonymous with right; the people have 
always vindicated his course and returned him to his 
place in the national councils over all opposition. 

The Thirty-sixth Congress assembled at Washington, 
Monday, December 5th, 1859. A majority of the mem- 
bers of the House were opposed to the administration. 
A contest for the Speakership rivalling that of the 
Thirty-fourth Congress delayed the organization for 
eight weeks, when William Pennington, ex-Governor of 
New Jersey, was elected Speaker. Mr. Colfax was made 
Chairman of the Committee on the Post Office and Post 
Roads. The mail service everywhere, on land and sea, 
was made to feel the vigor of his influence. He was 
especially solicitous that mail facilities should be 
afforded to the settlers of the new territories, and to 
those who had gone to the new gold regions of the 
Rocky Mountains. Through his special efforts and 
ability in carrying the measure through the House 
ahead of the routine order of business, the many thou- 
sands of emigrants to Pike's Peak, as Colorado was then 
called, who were paying from twenty-five cents to a 
dollar to express agents and others, for letters to and 
from the post offices on the frontiers, had extended to 
them the great benefits of the United States mail service 
a year sooner than they otherwise would. To him the 
credit is given of the establishment, by Congress, of the 
Daily Overland Mail from the western boundary of 
Missouri to San Francisco, on the great central route 
through Pike's Peak and Utah. The Overland Tele- 
graph bill was also carried through Congress chiefly 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 1 1 1 

tlirougli his agency ; a measure whicli was considered a 
greater parliamentary achievement, as most of the mem- 
bers seemed absolutely opposed to it. 

Mr. Colfax entered with all his soul into the great 
political conflict of 1860. He held that success was a 
duty due not only to Republican principles, but to the 
age and the country, and that any concession short of 
principle, necessary to insure that success, was not only 
wise and expedient, but also patriotic and obligatory. 
*' We counsel," he wrote, "no surrender of principle, no 
abandonment of our organization, no overture to unite 
with any of the opposition, who may profess to be more 
pro-slavery than the Democracy themselves ; but we pro- 
test, if it can be avoided, against there being again, as in 
1856, a division of the opposition in the States which 
are to decide the Presidential contest; and a renewal 
thereby of the lease of ill-used power, which our oppo- 
nents have thus obtained. Hundreds of thousands of 
voters, not yet enrolled in our ranks, sympathize with 
us in our desire to prevent the extension of slavery be- 
yond its present limits. Shall we foster and promote 
their union with us in the work of overthrowing the 
Democracy, or shall we repel all union, and, from an 
over-estimate, perhaps, of our own strength, hazard a 
success that, with wise counsels, is already in our grasp ? 

" We differ somewhat from those ardent cotemporaries 
who demand the nomination of their favorite 'Repre- 
sentative-man,' whether popular or unpopular, and who 
insist that this must be done ' even if we are defeated.' 
We do agree with them in declaring that we shall go 
for no man, who does not prefer free labor and its ex- 
tension to slave labor and its extension ; who though 
mindful of the impartiality- which should characterize 



112 Life of Schuyler Co fax, 

the Executive of the whole Union, will not fail to rebuke 
all new plots for making the Government the propagan- 
dist of slavery, and compel promptly and efficiently the 
'suppression of that horrible slave trade, which the whole 
civilized world has banned as infamous, piratical and 
accursed. But in a Republican national convention, if 
any man could be found, North, South, East or West, 
whose integrity, whose life and whose avowals, rendered 
him unquestionably safe upon these questions, and who 
would yet poll one, two or three hundred thousand votes 
more than any one else, we believe it would be both 
wisdom and duty, patriotism and policy, to nominate him 
by acclamation, and thus render the contest an assured 
success from its very opening. 

" Let us cast a single glance over the whole field. It 
was lost in 1856 by a division of the opposition. It is 
a fixed fact, that there is a decided majority of the voters 
of the Union to-day, who, while opposed to interference 
with slavery where it already exists, are adverse to its 
extension and to all plots to achieve that end. All these 
voters are not formally in the Republican ranks, but all 
are opposed to the Democracy. Shall an union of those 
who desire its overthrow for its manifold sins, be favored 
or shall it be repelled ? The Democracy will doubtless 
be playing the role of moderation, conservatism, etc., in 
1860 as in 1856, nominating old-line Whigs again as in 
1856, and wooing their followers to their parlors, as the 
spider did the fly. We should hope to see the Repub- 
lican ticket successful, and should earnestly labor for its 
triumph, even if it should, by deciding to repel all allies, 
provoke an union against it, for its overthrow, instead 
of its opponents 1 But looking at our own State of In- 
diana, as well as the broader arena we have been con- 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 1 1 3 

sidering, and seeing here an United States Senator, Gov- 
ernor, Legislature, State officers and Congressional dele- 
gation, dependent greatly on tlie wisdom of our Presi- 
dential action, we hope to see 1860 realize the famed 
motto of Augustine, 'In essentials, unity; in non-essen- 
tials, liberty; and in all things, charity.'" 

The nomination of Mr. Lincoln was accor<Hng to the 
desires of Mr. Colfax's heart. It was his judgment tliat 
the nomination of Mr. Seward would result in a largely 
increased vote for the American party candidate, in a 
loss of the doubtful States, the defeat of the Republican 
party and the prolongation for another term of four 
3^ears of the misrule under v/hich the country had 
groaned for the eight preceding years. His labors in 
Indiana, which was one of the doubtful States and one 
of the hard battle-fields of the great conflict, were very 
abundant and effective in achieving the great triumph 
that was won for the Republican cause. 

After Mr. Lincoln's election a spontaneous and ex- 
ceeding great public pressure was brought to bear upon 
the President elect for the appointment of Mr. Colfax to 
a place in his Cabinet as Postmaster-GeneraL The press, 
East, West, South, North, spoke of him for that position 
in the most flattering terms. The following was the lan- 
guage of one of the great dailies of the land : " The 
appointment of the Hon. Schuyler Colfax as Postmaster- 
General would, in our judgment, be an eminently appro- 
riate and satisfactory one. It may be truly said that 
his personal qualities are such as to fit him for any post 
of labor or trust. This, however, we take it for granted 
is well known. One thing is certain, that any establish- 
ment over which he might be placed, would be soon 
purged of every taint of corruption. He has the energy 



114 ^\f^ of Schuyler Colfax, 

and honest purpose demanded for restoring purity and 
thoroughness of administration. He would probe to the 
bottom every evil which should fall under his super- 
vision, and put an end to every form of peculation and 
every degree of incompetence. In short, whether Mr. 
Colfax is or is not tendered a Cabinet appointment, we 
have no hesitation in saying that the best interests of the 
Eepublican party and the new administration demand 
the appointment of men of his stamp to office." Such 
notices came alike from New England, from the great 
central States of New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, 
from the Northwest, from the Kocky Mountains, and 
from the States on the Pacific. Without any solicita- 
tion or any agency on his part, he was warmly recom- 
mended by the Legislatures and Governors of nearly 
every Northern State, by a very large majority of the 
Eepublican Congressmen both in the Senate and House, 
by all the publishers of the great cities of Philadelphia, 
New York and Boston, and by nearly the entire Eepub- 
lican press. As Mr. Colfax's own State was thought 
worthy of being represented in the Cabinet, a majority 
of the Presidential electors, a majority of the Eepublicans 
in the Legislature, a majority of the Eepublican Con- 
gressmen, the Eepublican Governor elect, a large major- 
ity of the Eepublican press, and a still larger majority 
of the Eepublican rank and file, united in recommending 
the appointment of Mr. Colfax. Never in the history 
of our Government was there manifested such a strong 
and unanimous desire for the appointment of any man 
to a place in the Cabinet, as there was for the appoint- 
ment of Mr. Colfax as Postmaster-General. BuL Mr. 
Lincoln, for reasons satisfactory to his own mind, ap- 
pointed Caleb B. Smith, of Indiana, as Secretary of the 



^ Life of Schuyler Colfax, 1 1 5 

Interior, and, of course, could not have another member 
in his Cabinet from Indiana, and Montgomery Blair was 
made Postmaster- General. But Mr. Lincoln gave Mr. 
Colfax a higher place in his confidence and in his heart 
than he had for him in his Cabinet, and one of his 
biographers states, that in the latter years of his admin- 
istration " he rarely took any steps affecting the interests 
of the nation without making his intentions known to 
Mr. Colfax, in whose judgment he placed the utmost 
confidence." 



CHAPTEH XIII. 

HOME AGAIN — HISTORICAL RETROSPECT — DEEDS OF VIO- 
LENCE — TREACHERY IN HIGH PLACES — NO OFFENSIVE 
ULTRAISM IN THE TRIUMPHANT PARTY — ESSENTIAL 
CHANGE OF CONSTITUTION REJECTED — WAITING THE 
DEVELOPMENT OF MR. LINCOLN'S POLICY. 

Soon after the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Col- 
fax returned to his home at South Bend, and resumed 
his editorial labors. His first article was the following 
interesting paper on the state of the country : 

HOME AGAIN. 

*' The stirring events of the past four months, which 
sweep before our eyes at the command of memory, as 
we come back to our old post of duty, seem like the 
history of a decade rather than a single season. When 
we bade good-bye last fall to the friends of our home, 



1 1 6 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

and turned our face towards the Eepresentative Hall, to 
which their confidence had commissioned us, the country 
had just passed through an exciting contest, in which 
four political parties had struggled for victory, and in 
which, although in many States three of these parties 
had combined to overthrow the one on whose banners 
were emblazoned 'Liberty and Union,' the Republicans 
had achieved a signal triumph. In this election every 
State had participated ; and North and South, East and 
West, the whole voting population of the republic, to a 
thorough extent never before known, had enlisted 
ardently under one banner or another of this eventful 
contest. By the Constitution under which we live — by 
the Union, sanctified by the sacrifices of our fathers — 
by the laws of the land — by every consideration of 
lionor and good faith — by the previous examples of the 
party that at last had proved successful — the duty of 
every American citizen was to submit, cheerfully and 
manfully, to this result, however unwelcome it might 
be to his prejudices. States, which did not expect to 
acquiesce, should have declined to participate. Parties, 
wliich expected to rebel should, if imbued with only 
common fairness, have stood aloof. Traitors, whose 
hearts were to be turned to hate against the Union, if 
unsuccessful in their votes, might have somewhat palli- 
ated their treason by repudiating in advance the use of 
the ballot-box. But to participate zealously in an 
election, and then, without any charge that their defeat 
was unconstitutionally effected, to revolt, is to base 
their rebellion on the morals of the gambler, who 
grasps his gains when he wins, but refuses, with an 
armed defiance, to yield the stakes when he loses. 
"And yet, although they thus actively participated— 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 117 

althougli on tlie 7th of November last there was no law 
upon the statute book on the subject of slavery except 
what had been placed there by Southern votes — although, 
it was clearly ascertained that, with all the States repre- 
sented, there would be a majority against the Republi- 
cans in each branch of Congress for the next two years 
— although no overt act against their interests had been, 
or could have been committed, the politicians of the 
Gulf States raised at once the banner of revolt, and 
determined, so far as they had power, to ruin a republic 
which they could not rule. True, only one of the three 
branches of the Government had passed into Republi- 
can hands — the Executive ; but knowing that for four 
years to come, the President elect could not be con- 
trolled by them for their purposes as Pierce and 
Buchanan had been, the Union suddenly became hate- 
ful to them ; and, reckless of the oaths which so many of 
them had taken for its preservation and protection, they 
boldly and openly declared themselves for its overthrow. 
" The incidents that followed are, alas, historic. The 
persecutions, tarring and feathering, and murdering of 
unoffending citizens who had dared to vote for the man 
of their choice — the reign of terror, which soon crushed 
out all show of resistance to the edicts of the oligarchy — 
the capture of forts and arsenals of the United States — 
the insults to that noble flag, whose stars had never 
paled in the face of a foe, and whose stripes, till thus 
disgraced by the men whom it had protected, had never 
been unfurled except to wave in honor and glory — the 
piratical seizure of vessels of the American navy — the 
theft of gold and silver coin in the mint and sub- 
treasury at New Orleans — the seizure of hospitals, pro- 
vided by the humanity of the whole Union, as homes 
7 



1 1 8 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

for the sick seamen of the South, and their conversion 
into barracks for the soldiers who rejoiced in the rattle- 
snake or pelican flag — these, and a thousand other 
incidents that can never be blotted from the page of 
history, are crowded into the record of the winter that 
has recently closed. 

" But, even worse, if possible, than all this, there was, 
for the first time in our nation since the days of Arnold, 
the most unblushing treachery in the highest places of 
the land; treason in the White House; treason in the 
Cabinet; treason in the halls of Congress; treason in 
the field. A Jackson or a Taylor would have crushed 
the conspiracy at the outset. But the Democratic ad- 
ministration of James Buchanan gave aid and comfort, 
in every possible way, to the plotters and the plot. The 
gallant chieftain, Scott, urged the Secretary of War to 
reinforce the forts before the cloud in the horizon was 
as large as a man's hand ; but Floyd refused. On the 
contrary, for months before, he had been scattering the 
army, dismantling the forts to leave them an easy cap- 
ture, distributing arms by the hundreds of thousands 
from the North all over the Southern States, where they 
could be most easily seized, and, since his resignation, 
has boasted of his work. 

*' Thompson, Secretary of the Interior, aided in this 
shameless scheme ; and, while still a Cabinet officer, not 
only journeyed to North Carolina as a Commissioner 
from Mississippi to urge them into open treason, but 
also telegraphed to Charleston the despatch which caused 
the rebels there to fire upon that ' flag of beauty and of 
glory,' under which supplies were being borne to a gal- 
lant band of American soldiers in their harbor, and thus 
dishonored the banner that a Marion or a Sumter would 



^ Life of Schuyler Colfax, 1 1 9 

have died to defend. He, too, has since boasted of his 
share in this work of shame. Toucey, as Secretary of 
the Navy, sent off our fleets to the very ends of the 
earth ; so that, when the long-planned treason was de- 
veloped, but a single frigate ready for service could be 
found on our shores. And Buchanan, whether from im- 
becility, or willingness to realize his own prediction, that 
he would be the last President of the United States, 
stood by, like Saul at the stoning of Stephen, consenting 
to the act, if not directly aiding in its wickedness. 

''And thus was this dark deed of treason consum- 
mated. Unaided by the administration, the conspirators 
would have failed. With an honest, patriotic adminis- 
tration in power, their plans would have been easily 
checkmated. But, with oflQcers on the quarter-deck 
and at the helm, steering the ship of State full on the 
breakers, granting full license to the mutineers amongst 
her crew; and their own subordinates, in the Interior 
and War Departments, pillaging the money-chests in the 
very midst of the storm, is it any wonder that she passed 
into the hands of her new officers almost a wreck ? 

"But, while these scenes were rapidly transpiring, 
Congress was called upon, from various quarters, to 
adopt some compromise ; not to satisfy the seceded 
States, for their leaders often declared, if the Kepublican 
party would sign stipulations in blank and leave them 
to fill up the terms themselves, they would not stay 
with them ; and it was evident that nothing short of 
Lincoln's resignation would appease their wrath; — not 
to satisfy the North, for it had learned to submit to 
the most distasteful laws, to the most obnoxious results, 
to the most unwelcome rulers; but, while Mr. Bu- 
chanan was arguing in his messages that new heresy, 



I20 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

whicli has since found so many advocates, that the en- 
forcement of the laws and the maintenance of the Union 
against all enemies of either, is coercion, it was insisted 
that something must be done for the Border States. 
The hero of the Hermitage, had he been living, would 
have awakened their patriotism by a proclamation, that 
would have stirred the blood of every loyal citizen. 
Washington would have stemmed the tide of insurrec- 
tion if he had had to take the field in person. And 
Taylor would have lived out in his acts, the stern lan- 
guage with which he replied to Toombs, when that 
domineering Georgian menaced him, as he lay on that 
sick-bed from which he was carried to his grave, with 
threats of resistance and disunion. 

''But President Buchanan, while on the one hand he 
held the army and navy in check, tying the hands of 
Anderson while a net-work of fortifications was being 
built around his beleaguered fort — on the other hand in- 
sisted on 'compromise,' himself suggesting terms in his 
message that he knew were totally inadmissible, and 
thereby fanning into a fiercer flame the em.bers of dis- 
affection and disloyalty. Republicans, amongst whose 
two million of voters there was not a single man who 
did not expect to submit, if beaten at the election, were 
appealed to, under the pretence of compromise, to con- 
cede away their principles to save an Union already 
broken by treason. Thank God, they stood firm and 
unyielding against the humiliations and the national 
disgrace their enemies besought them to sanction. Wil- 
ling to go to the utmost verge of conciliation, they could 
not consent to make slavery our national corner-stone. 
But they did not, on the other hand, exhibit any offensive 
ultraism in their policy. They organized three territories 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 121 

without a word about slavery in either of the bills; 
because under a fair administration, which would not 
use its armies and its influence for slavery, and with 
Governors and Judges who were not hostile to free 
principles, they felt willing to risk the issue and to 
waive a positive prohibition, which would only have 
inflamed the public mind and thwarted the organizations 
by a veto from Mr. Buchanan. To answer the clamor 
about Personal Liberty Bills, they voted for a resolution, 
in which as radical Eepublicans as Mr. Lovejoy joined, 
recommending the repeal of such as were unconstitu- 
tional. To show that they had no designs on slavery in 
the States, as has been so falsely charged upon them by 
their enemies, they voted unanimously that Congress 
had no right or power to interfere therein. When it 
was urged that possibly but seven slave States might 
remain in the Union, and that the North, with Pike's 
Peak and Nebraska, might soon number twenty-one 
free States, and that then, by a three-fourths vote, the 
Constitution might legally be so amended as to exercise 
that power, a large portion of the Republicans aided in 
proposing to the States, as a proffer for peace, a Consti- 
tutional amendment, declaring that under all circum- 
stances the Constitution shall remain on that question 
exactly as it came from the hands of Washington and 
Madison, unchangeable, thus assuring to the Border 
States absolute protection against all interference. But 
here the furthest limit of concession was reached. And 
when demands were made in the shape of the Crittenden 
and the Border State Compromise, that it should be de- 
clared that in all territories south of 36° 30^, slavery 
should exist and be protected as property, irrespective 
of and even in opposition to the public will, by consti- 



122 Life of Schuyler Co fax, 

tutional sanction, whicli should also be irrepealable, and 
that thus the Constitution should absolutely prohibit the 
people of the territories in question, from establishing 
freedom even if they unanimously desired it, the answer 
was NO. And by that answer, for one, we are willing 
to live and to die. Nor could we assent to any essential 
change in that noble instrument, the ISTew Testament of 
Freedom, baptized as it was in the blood of heroes, who 
died to give us its safe-guards, and consecrated, as it is, by 
the prayers of the patriots who framed it. They intended 
it for a great charter of liberty, and so it must remain 
until the nation ceases to be worthy of its protection. 
When, instead of slavery being barely the local excep- 
tion to its fundamental principles, as is now the case, it 
becomes by any amendment, its great central idea, we 
shall be so abased and dishonored, that Madison, who 
refused to allow in it any word that would recognize 
property in man, would scorn to acknowledge us as in- 
heritors of that revolutionary glory, of which as a nation 
we have been so justly proud. 

"But we must hasten with this hurried review of the 
past few months to a conclusion. President Lincoln, 
unable to grasp with his firm hand the trembling helm 
of State, while traitors were demoralizing the govern- 
ment and the people, during the long and gloomy winter, 
found, when he took the oath of office in the opening 
spring, the country in ruins, and secession almost an 
accomplished fact. With unshaken faith in his coolness, 
his judgment, and his determination, and with a full 
consciousness of all the mortifying embarrassments be- 
queathed to him by his predecessor, we wait anxiously 
to see him develop his policy. We believe that those 
who have pressed on him the expediency of * masterly 



^ Life of Schuyler Co fax. 1 23 

inactivity' will find his strong mind rejecting it; for 
that policy has no terror to evil-doers ; and it is only when 
the Union men in the Gulf States find that they are to 
receive the powerful support of the Government, that 
they will dare to uprise against their oppressors. We 
believe that Mr. Lincoln fully endorses the doctrine of 
Jefterson, that no foreign nation can ever have control 
of the mouth of the Mississippi river, and that it must 
be under the full and absolute control of the Government 
of the United States. And we know that if this policy 
is declared and carried out, any party in the Northwest 
which shall dare to array themselves against it will be 
overwhelmed by the masses of patriotic citizens, irre- 
spective of political ties, who will rejoice to stand by the 
administration on such an issue as the indivisibility and 
perfect freedom of the great valley of the Mississippi, 
from its source to its mouth. Here, certainly, the path- 
ways of policy and of principle lie in the same direction, 
and duty and expediency clasp hands in its favor." 



CHAPTEE XIV. 

THE OPENING OF THE WAR — THE DIE IS CAST — THfi HE- 
ROIC DEFENDER OF FORT SUMTER — HIS INTERESTING 
CONVERSATION — FROM WASHINGTON TO PHILADELPHIA 
VIA ANNAPOLIS AND PERRY VILLE — SPEECH OF MAJOR 
ANDERSON. 

On the 12th of April, 1861, the rebel guns opened 
upon Fort Sumter, and war, dread war, had come, on 



124 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

land and sea — "war with a thousand battles." The fol- 
lowing brief editorial was from the pen of Mr. Colfax : 

THE DIE IS CAST. 

'' Our columns are crowded with the exciting news 
that has poured in on us during the last few days, and 
we have but brief space for editorial comment. 

" South Carolina has courted the infamy of lighting 
the torch of civil war. Forbearance on the part of the 
national Government, almost to the extreme of humilia- 
tion, has been met with arrogance and insult, until, un- 
able to force the United States into any act of bloodshed 
and violence, which they could make a pretext for their 
act, they have most wickedly precipitated the Eepublic 
into war. They have opened the fires of their murder- 
ous batteries on the flag that Washington loved, and 
which Jackson and Taylor and Scott illumined with 
so many glorious triumphs — a parricidal act, as infamous 
as the ruffian who aims a death-blow at the mother who 
had borne and nurtured him. They have trampled the 
constitution and the laws, which they have sworn to 
support, under their feet ; and they avow their purpose 
to overthrow the Government they can no longer rule, 
by the force and power of arms. 

"But the awakened and bounding patriotism of the 
American people proves they have reckoned without 
their host. Heuceforth it is evident ail party divisions 
are to be forgotton. The question whether our Govern- 
ment has a right to exist, towers above all others. The 
only issue is to be between patriots and traitors. All 
men must range themselves under the reptile flag of 
disunion, or the resplendent stars and stripes, every 
thread of which has been consecrated by the blood of 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 125 

heroes, who lived and died under its folds. There can 
be no neutrals in this struggle. They who are not for the 
American Union, the American Constitution, and the 
American Flag, against treason and rebellion, against 
perfidy and revolution, against the architects of ruin 
and the inaugurators of civil war, are in sympathy with 
the traitors, and will be known as the cow-boys of 1861, 
who, like the cow-boys of the Kevolution, will be re- 
garded in history as lower than the enemies whom they 
aided and abetted. While with all loyal men the motto 
*God and our country,' will unite them, as with one 
heart and soul; for the stern duties of the impending 
contest." 

Mr. Colfax was immediately called away from home 
in the service of the Government. Several important 
missions were committed to his trust. The following 
from his pen respecting Major Anderson, the heroic de- 
fender of Fort Sumter, is of abiding interest; 

EOBERT ANDERSOIT, 

THE HEROIC DEFENDER OF FORT SUMTER. 

"In our two weeks absence from our readers, we have 
been travelling some four thousand miles in Canada, the 
East, etc., in the service of the State ; but the most in- 
teresting incident to us personally of the whole trip, has 
been the acquaintance we formed with Major, now Col- 
onel Anderson, whose heroic conduct during the last four 
months in the harbor of Charleston^ has given him so 
strong a lodgment in the hearts of the American people, 
and such an enviable place in American history. 

" We met him first in the War Department, in Wash- 



126 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

ington, and found him that plain, unassuming gentleman, 
which all reports had declared him to be — loving his 
flag and country with a most fervid devotion, evidently 
more a man of deeds than of words, and with a face that 
exhibited unyielding determination in its every linea- 
ment. The next morning, just after the fire lit by the 
hand of an incendiary that threatened Willard's Hotel, 
had been subdued by the gallant Zouave Kegiment of 
New York Firemen, we spent an hour, on his invita- 
tion, with him in his room, conversing on the stirring 
incidents of the eventful months that have recently 
passed, and the next day travelled in his company from 
Washington to Philadelphia, over the United States 
military route, via Annapolis, Chesapeake Bay and 
Perryville. 

'' We cannot, in the limits of a newspaper article, detail 
all of his deeply interesting conversation ; but must 
content ourself with a few points. 

" In response to an inquiry whether he had ever 
thought of blowing up the fort, with his entire command 
and himself, he replied in substance as follows : ' That 
finding his position at Fort Moultrie untenable, and the 
danger of an attack on him increasing, he determined 
to remove to Fort Sumter.' Writing to the War Depart- 
ment he remarked : ' If I were in Sumter, my command 
would be safe, if no additional fortifications should be 
built;' but this hint seemed to escape Mr. Floyd's 
notice. He then told the Charlestonians, who frequently 
visited Fort Moultrie, that, not knowing w^hen an attack 
might be made on him, he should remove the women 
and children from it ; and without any attempt at 
secresy, employed two schooners for this purpose. 
People came to his wharf in the afternoon while he was 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 127 

packing the furniture, bedding, etc., on the vessels, and 
they were removed as he had said. After night, feeling 
that he had a right to make himself and his soldiers safe, 
as well as the women, he embarked them also on the 
vessels, and before morning they were safe within the 
walls of Sumter. The people of Charleston, when this 
movement was discovered, became exceedingly bitter 
and full of wrath. General Jennison, the President of the 
State Convention, called on Major Anderson and told 
him of their indignation against him — asseverating that 
twenty thousand people were ready to surround the fort, 
and to work their way into his command if they had to 
pick the bricks out of the wall with their fingers. 'Let 
them try it,' coolly replied Major Anderson, 'and when 
they have made the breach, they will find that we prefer 
death to being butchered. The magazine shall end the 
contest, and they will find here neither fort nor men.' 

" When the bombardment commenced, they were en- 
tirely out of bread, rice, etc. Their stock of supplies 
was a few days rations of salt meat and coftee. The 
fire was opened on them at four-and-a-half A. M., bat- 
tery after battery joining in the murderous attack. The 
Major took it very calmly ; divided his men into com- 
panies to relieve each other ; had their scanty breakfast 
prepared, which they partook of in silence, while the 
iron hail was crashing against their walls ; prepared ad- 
ditional cartridges by tearing up the flannel shirts of the 
men, their bed-clothes, etc. ; got out a supply of powder 
from the magazine ; and after nearly four hours silence, 
the fort at last opened most vigorously on their assail- 
ants. Hot coffee was kept on the boiler in the cook- 
room for the men to partake of whenever they pleased ; 
and they worked the guns with a will. They fired but 



128 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

few shells ; for the only guns for that kind of ammuni- 
tion were the barbette ones on the open rampart, many 
of which were dismounted by the continuous fire of the 
enemy, and the serving of which, from the lack of case- 
mate protection, would have rapidly thinned out the 
Major's little band. 

" The Major does not evidently credit the South Caro- 
lina story that no one was hurt on their side ; but, with 
his usual caution, expressed no positive opinion on the 
subject, having no means of knowing what were the 
actual facts. 

"Although the batteries kept up the fire on the fort, 
at intervals, all night, to prevent the men from sleeping, 
they failed in their object. He ordered the men to bed, 
and they slept soundly, while the sentinels alone kept on 
duty. Although he had been up the night before, in the 
correspondence and conference with Beauregard's aids, 
he stayed up this night also, thinking that, by a bare 
possibility, some small boat from the relief squadron 
might work their way up to the fort. But they did not, 
and he was satisfied that relief was an impossibility. It 
was ' too late,' and he rejoiced that the fleet did not en- 
danger themselves by the attempt. 

" The reports, that were telegraphed from Charleston 
to the North, that when his barracks were on fire relief 
was proffered him, that when his flag was shot down 
another one was tendered, that after the evacuation he 
was the guest of Beauregard, are all equally untrue. 
When his fort was filled with the smoke of his burning 
quarters, the hostile batteries redoubled their fire on 
him. He says that, though the Charleston Mercury is 
now denouncing him for having spoken in condemna- 
tion of this at the North, he has the satisfaction of re- 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 129 

membering that he spoke of it with equal frankness to 
the Carolinians. 

"At the evacuation, he said to one of the officers: 
* If our cases had been reversed, and your quarters were 
on fire, I should have stopped firing, and offered aid to 
extinguish the flames. War is a sad business at best, 
and we should strive to humanize it as much as possi- 
ble.' The officer replied : ' We did just right.' 'Then, 
sir,' said Anderson, 'we need have no further conversa- 
tion,' 

" His statement of Wigfall's conversation with him, 
when he agreed to evacuate, differs materially from 
Wigfall's version as telegraphed. Wigfall did not de- 
mand an ' unconditional surrender,' and the fort in fact 
never was surrendered. He insisted that 'this thing' 
should be stopped — that Anderson had bravely defended 
his flag, that further contest was useless, and that Gen- 
eral Beauregard wished to know on what terms he would 
evacuate. ' On those formerly proffered,' replied Ander- 
son. When Beauregard's acting aids came, a short time 
after, and told him Wigfall had not seen their chief for 
two days, Anderson said : ' I have been imposed on, 
then; the white flag must come down and the fight go 
on.' But, as he had hoisted it after the Wigfall confer- 
ence, at their request, lie let it fly till Beauregard ratified 
the terms. Major Anderson regards the whole matter 
from last December until now as providential, and as 
intended, in the end, to arouse the magnificent demon- 
stration of loyalty now witnessed in the country, and he 
regards Wigfall's visit as specially so. He had then but 
three cartridges left; a shot had gone through his wall 
and into a magazine, in which, fortunately, there was 
only fixed ammunition and no powder, and his gate was 



130 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

burned down, making a practicable breacb, tbrougb 
which he could have been stormed and placed at their 
mercy. And he speaks with great satisfaction of the 
fact, that the flag he hoisted on bended knee, after 
prayer, the next day after he entered Sumter, was never 
lowered. They had two flags at the fort, a large garrison 
flag, which he raised when he took up his quarters at 
Sumter, and a smaller one, called the storm-flag. The 
former had a slight rip in it ; and when he was notified 
that in one hour the batteries would open upon him, he 
ordered the storm-flag to be raised in its stead. This 
flag was never at half-mast, as telegraphed. The enemy 
constantly fired at it, and the halyards were shot away, 
when it ran down a little, became entangled with the 
dissevered ropes, and fixed so that it could neither be 
pulled down nor hoisted up — virtually nailed to the 
mast. 

^' The remark, so widely criticised, made by him to 
Beauregard's officers: 'If not reinforced, I shall be 
starved out, or bartered to pieces in a few days,' and 
which was telegraphed to Jefferson Davis and all over 
the country, he never uttered officially, nor expected to 
see repeated. After refusing in writing to surrender, he 
made the above remark in a general conversation, as he 
was about bowing them out of the fort, knowing that 
ihey knew, as they had stopped his supplies several days 
before, that he was at that very time out of bread, pota- 
toes, fresh meats, rice, cabbage, etc. He thinks, however, 
that by their catching at it and publishing it, they only 
put themselves more in the wrong ; as it proved that all 
sides fully understood that, in a few days at most, his 
already half- starved garrison would be entirely starved 
out, without firing a gun at the flag or the fort, or 



Life of Schuyler Coif ay:, 131 

endeavoring to slaughter the soldiers who but performed 
their duty in defending both. 

" He said that all the time he was in Sumter he was 
in a genteel state's prison. Visits could only be made 
to him, even by his sick and anxious wife, by consent 
of the Carolina authorities — when they chose, they 
would refuse to let him buy potatoes ; and a present of 
two cases of tobacco from New York, to the soldiers, 
was kept in Charleston, after being examined, three 
weeks, before they were allowed to taste what was such 
a luxury to them, and of which they had been for so 
long a time deprived. 

'^ Alluding to an 'impregnable fort' being on fire 
inside, which caused so much remark during the bom- 
bardment, he said he had always disapproved of wooden 
barracks being created in such localities, and that for 
years he had been convinced that iron was the proper 
material. 

"We asked him what he thought of the famous 
floating battery, and his reply was that its guns were 
effective, but that from their not anchoring it in the 
river near the fort, but mooring it at Sullivan's Island, 
its builders seemed to lack confidence in its boasted 
impregnability. 

"Major Anderson became a Colonel by promotion 
while he was at the Capital, and remarked jocosely 
that ' thirty years ago he had the same rank and had 
just got back to it again.' In the Black Hawk war he 
had a staff commission, which gave him the honorary 
rank of Colonel ; but he has at last reached it by de- 
served promotion, step by step, in the regular service. 
He wiU be a General before 1861 is numbered with the 
past. 



132 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

''His route from Washington, via Annapolis and 
Perryville to Philadelphia, was a perfect ovation. At 
every station in Maryland and Pennsylvania, soldiers 
and citizens rushed to the cars, cheered him to the echo, 
insisted on shaking hands with him through the car 
window, and if the car doors had not been locked, 
would have entered and carried him off. At Perryville, 
Md., when we all landed from the steamer on the 
Chesapeake and took the cars for Philadelphia, we were 
half an hour ahead of time, and while waiting for the 
time of starting, he was most vociferously cheered, and 
Mrs. Lincoln also, who was going North in the same 
train. The crowd insisted on a speech, and at his re- 
quest and Mrs. Lincoln's, we responded for both of 
them. Colonel Curtis, of Iowa, also spoke. But the 
extemporized mass meeting, and the soldiers especially, 
insisted that he should speak, and he finally responded 
as follows (we give the speech in full) : 

" ' Fellow-soldiers : My friends from Indiana and 
Iowa have spoken for all of us in response to your 
kind greeting; and I only appear before you because 
you insist on it. My duty is to act and not to speak. 
This also is to be yours. Be faithful to your country, 
to which you owe so much. Be true to your glorious 
flag. Put your trust in God, and all will be right. 
God bless you.' 

" Mr. Halstead, of New Jersey, Mr. Woods, a Union 
man from Texas, and Simeon Draper, of New York, also 
spoke ; but that short, expressive speech of Anderson's 
eclipsed, and most justly, all the other speeches made in 
that half hour combined. At Philadelphia his reception 
was miigiiificent," 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 133 



CHAPTER XV. 

CIVILIANS AND MILITARY SEEVICE— DUTIES OF CONGRESS 
— LABORS OUT OF CONGRESS — THE DEATH OF MRS. 
COLFAX — HER ESTIMABLE CHARACTER. 

President Madison, it is said, contemplated, during 
the war of 1812, making Henry Clay commander-in- 
chief of the American armies, but refrained from doing so 
because other branches of the public service had greater 
claims upon the eminent abilities of that distinguished 
civilian. Mr. Colfax would have been glad to have 
entered the military service in any minor capacity ; but 
the civil service had a higher claim upon him. He had 
been re-elected a member of Congress. Upon that 
body would now devolve such duties as no Congress 
had ever yet been called upon to perform. Upon it 
would rest the great task of all appropriate legislation 
for sustaining the administration in its immense respon- 
sibility, and for carrying the country triumphantly 
through the great and perilous war in which it was 
engaged. The country was now in greater danger of 
destruction than ever before in its history. These perils 
of the country, and these duties devolving upon Con- 
gress, made it imperative upon Mr. Colfax to continue 
in that duty to which the people had called him, and at 
that post where they had placed him. In the Thirty- 
seventh Congress, a special session of which was called 
to meet on the fourth of July, he bore his part in the 
legislation which gave the country its great army and 
navy, placed over them their distinguished commanders, 

and furnished from the resources of the nation the 
8 



IJ4 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

iiameDse amount of means the Government needed for 
the strengthening of those two great arms of the national 
defence. Congress was not where the crashing thunder 
and leaden hail of the battle were ; neither was Congress 
the hidden spring and source of the power that, under 
God, saved the land. That hidden spring and source of 
power was in the unsearchable and illimitable patriotism 
in the hearts of the people. Congress, however, was the 
organizing centre of that power which was in the 
patriotism of the people, and which, under God, was the 
salvation of the country. 

But the labors of Mr. Colfax were not confined to his 
duties in Congress. They were abundant in battling 
with the sentiments that would have settled down like 
a deadly choke-damp upon the fires of patriotism and 
quenched them ; that would, in suicidal policy, have 
recalled our armies from the camp and field, and granted 
the leaders of the rebellion all their demands. His 
eloquence in behalf of the country and army, like a 
bugle blast, stirred the hearts of men. His untiring 
efforts secured several regiments for the field from his 
district. At the time when his re-election was pending, 
disaster had sapped the enthusiasm of army and people. 
" Taking the district rostrum, he passed rapidly around 
among the people like a military evangelist, pleading for 
freedom, for the country, and for the army, forgetful of 
self, and solicitous only to recruit our thinned lines of 
battle." Friends, believing that his re-election was 
more valuable to the country than the regiments sent 
out of his district at that time could be to. the army, 
remonstrated with him, but in vain. The characteristic 
reply, unstudied for effect, because made in private, was, 
that he preferred that he, not our brave soldiers, should 



' Life of Schuyler Colfax. 135 

be in the minority, and that recruiting should go briskly 
and immediately forward. 

In July, 1863, the great affliction of the life of Mr. 
Colfax occurred — his wife died. 

Whilst he was a child with his widowed mother in 
New York, he was taken with her on annual visits far 
up the Hudson river, into the region of Saratoga. 
There, a child, he had met another child, a sweet little 
girl, younger than himself, and they had played together 
in the glorious summer-time, amidst the flowers, and 
under the trees, and upon the green hills, and by the 
crystal springs and murmuring brooks. Year after 
year he came from the noisy city to this country-para- 
dise, and met the sweet little girl with whom he loved 
to play. But the annual visits were too far apart for 
the communication of the thoughts of the children, and 
letter- writing began at eight years of age. Those visits 
and those letters were silken ties that bound two hearts 
together. The tide of emigration that swept one of 
those hearts far away into the wild woods of the West 
severed not the ties that bound it to the other. Just 
before he had established himself as village editor, 
Schuyler Colfax, at the age of twenty-one, had been 
married, and had brought to his home in the West, in 
the person of a beautiful and admired woman, the little 
girl with whom he had so lovingly played in the glorious 
paradise of childhood. 

What bright, halcyon days were those of the village 
editor in his new home, in the happy society of his wife, 
giving himself to the enjoyment of books and the duties 
of editorship. Mrs. Colfax became a very lovely, de- 
voted Christian woman. She was at Washington vnth 
her husband for a number of years. Her Christian 



136 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

character did not suffer blight from the power of the 
world. It grew in winning loveliness, in tender gentle- 
ness and firm consistency. She was such a Christian 
woman as Admiral Foote, the missionary admiral, as he 
has been called, who knew her well, said could be ill 
spared from Washington. For eight years before her 
death she was an invalid. Her husband's devotedness to 
her was unbounded. Solicitude in watching over her, 
while suffering from wasting disease, but bound her 
noble h asband more closely to her. Death came ; and 
although it had been long expected, because for a long 
time it had been giving signals of its approach, yet, until 
it came, the dreadfulness and desolation of its coming 
had not been dreamed of. 

Mrs. Evelyn E. Colfax died at Newport, Ehode Island, 
July 10th, 1863, and was buried at South Bend, Indiana. 
A beautiful monument marks her grave. The inscrip- 
tion upon it characterizing her life is the Scriptural 
truth, " The path of the just shineth more and more unto 
the perfect day." And to this day, ladies, who have 
not forgotten her loveliness and worth, keep her grave 
adorned with blooming flowers from the spring-time to 
the fall. 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, ijy 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE THIRTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS — MR. COLFAX ELECTED 
SPEAKER — THE INAUGURATION — INAUGURAL ADDRESS 
— OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 

The Thirtj-eightli Congress met on Monday, Decem- 
ber 7th, 1863. The House was promptly organized by 
the election, upon the first ballot, of Mr. Colfax as 
Speaker. The whole number of votes cast was one 
hundred and eighty-one. Of these, Mr. Colfax received 
one hundred and one. 

Whitelaw E.ied, Esq., Washington correspondent of 
the Cincinnati Gazette, wrote for that journal the follow- 
ing account of the election and inauguration of the 
Speaker : 

'* There is a moment of suspense while the lists are 
carefully footed up; the tellers — Dawes, Pendleton, 
Pomeroy and Wadsworth, a Yankee Radical, a Cincin- 
nati Democrat, a Pennsylvania Republican and a Ken- 
tucky pro-slavery Unionist — range themselves before 
the Clerk's desk, and Mr. Pendleton announces that 
Colfax has one hundred and one votes, Cox forty-two, 
and the rest scattering down to two. And the galleries 
cheer again. He has carried every vote of his party in 
the House — there is not a bolter or a dodger. It is the 
sixth time in his political career he has had just such a 
flattering experience. With what grace he may, the 
Clerk announces that ' Schuyler Colfax, one of the Rep- 
resentatives from the State of Indiana, having received a 
majority of the votes given, is duly elected Speaker of 



ijS Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

the House of Eepresentatives for the Tbirty-eightli Con- 
gress.' And the galleries cheer again, while the mem- 
bers' faces are wreathed in smiles, and there is a general 
turning to the medium-sized, brown-bearded, genial-faced 
man in the midst of the administration members, who 
has been avoiding the fire of gazes from spectators by 
bending over a roll-call. 

" In a moment, at the Clerk's appointment, a couple 
of Democrats, Dawson and Cox, are coming over from 
the opposite side to congratulate the Speaker and con- 
duct him to the chair. 

" And then, under the gaze of all this assemblage of 
Place and Power, there walks up the aisle, to take the 
official oath of the third executive office in the nation, 
the. son of a poor widow of New York city, who quit 
school at the age of ten years to seek his fortune in the 
West, and since then, thanks to the training of the 
printing-office, to generous talents and a good use of 
them, has been gradually climbing, climbing, till to-day 
he stands in this envied position, the unanimous choice 
of his party for the place; stands where the Fathers 
who first gathered in our national Congress placed 
Muhlenburg, where Henry Clay so long shed dignity 
upon the position, where, in later years. Bell and Polk 
and Winthrop and Linn Boyd and Banks have deemed 
it high honor to stand. It is another triumph of the 
best feature in the institutions we are striving to pre- 
serve. 

" He speaks briefly, gracefully, patriotically ; invokes 
their remembrance of that sacred truth, which all his- 
tory verifies, that they who rule not in righteousness 
shall perish from the earth ; and, after grateful thanks, 
turns to take the solemn oath of office, which Mr. Wash- 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 139 

burne administers. And the galleries ring again with 
applause as he takes the Speaker's chair, and the House 
no longer depends on Etheridge, the Clerk." 

The following was the inaugural address of Mr. 
Colfax : 

"■ Gentlemen of the House of Eepkesentatives : 
To-day will be marked in American history as the 
opening of a Congress destined to face and settle the 
most important questions of the century, and during 
whose existence the rebellion which has passed its cul- 
mination, will, beyond question, thanks to our army, 
and navy, and administration, die a deserved death. 
Not only will your constituents watch with strict scru- 
tiny your deliberations here, but the friends of liberty, 
in the most distant lands, will be interested spectators of 
your acts in this greater than Eoman forum. I invoke 
you to approach these grave questions with the calm 
thoughtfulness of statesmen, freeing yourselves from 
that acerbity which mars instead of advancing legislation, 
and with unshaken reliance on that Divine power which 
gave victory to those who formed this Union, and can 
give even greater victory to those who are seeking to 
save it from destruction, from the hand of the parricide 
and traitor. I invoke you, also, to remember that sacred 
truth which all history verifies, that ' they who rule not 
in righteousness shall perish from the earth.' 

'' Thanking you with a grateful heart for this distin- 
guished mark of your confidence and regard, and appeal- 
ing to you all for that support and forbearance, by the 
aid of which alone I can hope to ^cceed, I am now 
ready to take the oath of office and enter upon the duties 
you have assigned me." 



140 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

Tlie following extracts give the responses of the press, 
both Eepublican and Democratic, to the election of Mr. 
Colfax as Speaker : 

*' It is probable that before these lines fall -under the 
reader's eye, the Hon. Schuyler Colfax will have been 
elected Speaker of the House of Eepresentatives. No 
man in the present Congress is more eminently fitted 
than he to fulfil the duties of that responsible position. 
One of the most experienced members, thoroughly fami- 
liar with the rules and proceedings of the House, person- 
ally popular with both parties on account of his courtesy 
and fairness, and bearing an unblemished reputation for 
political integrity and devotion to the great principles 
which underlie our Government, he will take his seat 
with the general acquiescence of the body over which 
he is called to preside, and of the country at large. It 
may here be mentioned as an interesting fact, that the 
election of Mr. Colfax introduces a new profession into 
the Speaker's chair. Hitherto, if our memory serves us 
right, the Speakers have been selected from the legal 
profession. Mr. Colfax is not a lawyer, but an editor of 
untiring industry and enterprise, and has risen to his 
present high position solely on his merits. The country 
will be greatly disappointed if he does not prove to be one 
of the best presiding officers ever elected to the Speaker's 
chair." — New York Com. Aduertiser, December 7th, 1863. 

" The first day's proceedings of Congress give a touch 
of its quality in a working majority for the radicals in 
both branches, sufficient for all practical purposes. The 
party united without difficulty on Mr. Colfax, the oppo- 
sition proving to ba of no account. The administration 
candidate was elected on the first ballot. The Speaker, 
for a wonder, is not a lawyer, but has been several years 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 141 

an able journalist, and is a conrteous gentleman, of 
strongly radical politics, bat of decision, energy and in- 
tegrity of character, and promises to make an impartial 
presiding officer. 

"As we cannot have a Democrat for Speaker of Con- 
gress, we would as soon see Mr. Colfax in the chair as 
any Eepnblican in the House. He is an intelligent, 
active working man, a good printer, a good editor, a 
good citizen, and has discharged his duty conscientiously, 
we have no doubt, as a public man. We hope he will 
be treated fairly and with all due respect in his new and 
responsible position, and that the proceedings of the 
present Congress will be distinguished in all respects by 
reason, not by passion; by that mutual forbearance 
and patriotic motive which the critical condition 
of the country requires at the hands of its iaithfui 
friends." — Boston Fast. 



CHAPTEPt XVII. 

PRESS DINNER TO MR. COLFAX — SPEECH OF MR. WILKE- 
SON — RESPONSE OF MR. COLFAX. 

Mr. Colfax was the first editor ever elected to the 
Speaker's chair. The members of the press, in honor 
of the event, gave to him a public dinner, an account 
of which was thus given by the Washington Chronicle : 

"On Saturday evening last was commemorated in our 
city one of those striking events which are the boast of 
our Eepublican institutions. While an honest rail- 



142 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

splitter guides the destinies of the Kepublic in this, the 
grandest ordeal through which it has passed, so as to 
command the hearty respect of the world and the 
honest admiration of his countrymen; an ex- editor pre- 
sides over the deliberations of the House of Eepresen- 
tatives — that ' nobler than Roman forum,' with an ease 
of manner, a delicacy of tact, and a fulness of knowledge 
rarely equalled and seldom surpassed. The representa- 
tives of the press rightly judged that so significant an event 
should not be passed over unnoticed, and accordingly 
tendered to Mr. Colfax the compliment of a dinner that 
was to embrace only those connected with the ' Fourth 
Estate.' The following letter was therefore addressed 
to Mr. Colfax : 

"'Washington" City, Decemher Idth, 1863. 
" ' Hon. Schuyler Colfax, 

" ^Speaker of the House of Bepresentatives of the United States : 

"'Dear Sir: Appreciating your services through a 
long course of public life, and the rare qualities of heart 
and mind which have made your elevation to the third 
executive office of the nation seem so natural and fitting 
that all competitors quietly withdrew, and the members 
of your party put you in nomination by acclamation, the 
representatives of your life-long profession now at 
the Capital desire to mark their admiration of your 
private and public virtues, and their gratification at 
your being called to preside over one of the largest 
and most important legislative assemblages in the 
world. 

" ' We beg, therefore, to ask your presence at a dinner 
to be given in honor of your election, at Willard's 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 143 

Hotel, this evening, at seven o'clock, to be attended 
exclusively by the members of the press.' 

"The distinguished guest and his entertainers assem- 
bled in due time in one of the parlors at Willard's. 
Shortly before eight they repaired to the dining room, 
where was set out a table resplendent with silver and 
glass. 

"Samuel Wilkeson, of the New York Times, pre- 
sided, and made the opening speech. After referring 
to his past connection with both the Albany Evening 
Journal and New York Tribune as editor, and describ- 
ing his running over the various exchanges, he con- 
cludes : 

^' Going rapidly through all till I came to the South 
Bend Register. That paper I always read, both on the 
Tribune and on the Journal. I read it for its own sake, 
for it was wise, it was honest, it was well made, it ever 
had news. 'Twas one of the few papers in America 
into which the scissors always went, or which always 
communicated to a daily political writer a valuable 
political impression. And I read the South Bend 
Register for another reason, wholly peculiar to myself. 
Eighteen years ago, at one o'clock of a winter moon- 
light morning, while the horses of the stage-coach in 
which I was plowing the thick mud of Indiana were 
being changed at the tavern in South Bend, I walked 
the footway of the principal street to shake off a great 
weariness. I saw a light through a window. A sign, 
' The Register J was legible above it, and I saw through 
the window a man in his shirt sleeves walking quickly 
about like one that worked. I paused, and looked, and 
imagined about the man, and about his work, and about 
tlie lateness of the hour to which it was protracted ; and 



144 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

I wondered if he was in debt and was struggling to get 
out, and if his wife was expecting him and had lighted 
a new candle for his coming, and if he was very tired. 
A coming step interrupted this idle dreaming. When 
the walker reached my side I joined him, and as we 
went I asked him questions, and naturally they were 
about the workman in the shirt sleeves. '■ What sort of 
a man is he?' ' He is very good to the poor ; he works 
hard ; he is sociable with all people ; he pays his debts ; 
he is a safe adviser ; he doesn't drink whiskey ; folks 
depend on him ; all this part of Indiana believe in him.' 
From that day to this I have never taken up the South 
Bend Register without thinking of this eulogy, and 
envying the man who had justly entitled himself to it 
in the dawn of his manhood. 

^' That man when twenty-five years old, and again when 
twenty-nine years old, was sent by his neighbors to the 
National Presidential Conventions — when twenty-seven 
years old was sent by his neighbors as a wise political- 
reformer to the Constitutional Convention of Indiana — 
was sent by the same neighbors to Congress in the year 
1854, and kept there by them from that day to this. On 
the first Monday of this month of December, the Repub- 
licans of the House of Representatives unanimously 
elected him the Speaker of that body. 

" My brothers, you think you know the secret of this 
uninterrupted favor of a constituency to a representative 
— this continued regard of a constituency for a citizen 
— of this appreciation of a statesman by statesmen. You 
find them in his fidelity to principles — in his thorough 
attention to business — in his talents for legislation — in 
their constant and useful devotion to public good. The 
Congressional Globe and the traditional and written his- 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 145 

tory of Congress are full of the evidences of these vir- 
tues, and of this fitness for public trusts, and this title 
to honored confidence. But jou don't know the secret. 
I do. I learned it bv chance. I got possession of it by 
an unwitting and unwilling eaves-dropping in the parlor 
of another noble man, John W. Forney. Eighteen 
years after my midnight watching of that printer, in his 
shirt-sleeves, at his solitary labor, I heard him in this 
city utter this, his philosophy of life : ' / consider that 
day wasted in which I have not done some good to some 
' human being, or added somewhat to somebody'^ s happiness.^ 
' What success could recede from that man's pursuit ? 
nay, what success would not pursue that man and for- 
cibly crown him with honors and gratitude ? Schuyler 
I Colfax, editor of the South Bend Register^ Congressman 
' from Indiana, and for eleven years actor of a philosophi- 
I cal life that Socrates might have envied, you cannot 
escape the love of your fellow-man. We journalists and 
! men of the newspaper press do love you, and claim you 
I as bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. Fill your 
gJasses all, in an invocation to the gods for long life, 
I greater successes, and ever-increasing happiness to our 
I editorial brother in the Speaker's chair." 

i 

In response to the toast of the President, loud calls 
being made for Hon. Schuyler Colfax, that gentleman 
arose, and when the excitement subsided, spoke as fol- 
lows : 

"• Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Press : If 
the events of the first Monday of December, in which the 
American Congress saw fit to take the editor of a coun- 
try paper, and place him in the highest chair in that 
dignified and deliberative body, shall be imprinted upon 



146 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

my memory until the hour comes that I am to be gath- 
ered to my fathers — this night, when by yonr invitation 
I am in the midst of my brethren of the press, receiving 
at your hands a compliment of which the most honored 
statesman in America might be proud, joined in as it is 
by gentlemen of all the various political organizations 
of the day, and with a welcome and heart greeting that 
seem to me must be sincere, will be equally imprinted 
upon my memory while life shall last. And as if to in- 
crease this obligation, and make it far beyond my ability 
to adequately acknowledge, I have had to listen to-night 
to an eulogy from your distinguished chairman, of which 
I can only wish I was more worthy. What he has said has 
called back to my m_ind what is often before it, the years 
of my early manhood — and I see a friend seated at this 
table, Mr. Defrees, who knows much of it about as well 
as myself — when, struggling against poverty and adverse 
fortunes sometimes, I sought in the profession to which 
you have devoted yourselves, to earn an honest liveli- 
hood for myself and family, and a position, humble but 
not dishonored, among the newspaper men of America. 
I cannot remember the exact evening to which he al- 
ludes, when, a stranger then, as I am glad he is not now, 
he saw me through a window in my office, with the mid- 
night lamp before me, and heard the commentary on my 
life from the lips of some too partial friend amongst 
those who, from my boyhood, have surrounded me with 
so much kindness and affection. But well do I remem- 
ber, in the early history of the newspaper that numbered 
but two hundred and fifty subscribers when. I established 
it, I was often compelled to labor far into the hours of 
night. And little did I dream, at that time, I was ever 
to be a member of the American Congress ; and far less 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 147 

that I was to be the recipient of the honor whose confer- 
ment you commemorate and endorse to-night. I can 
say of that paper that its columns, from its very first 
number, will bear testimony to-day that in all the politi- 
cal canvasses in which I was engaged, I never avoided a 
frank and outspoken expression of opinion on any 
question before the American public ; and that, as these 
opinions had always been honestly entertained, I hesitated 
not to frankly and manfully avow them. 

"Though the effect of these avowals was, from the 
political complexion of the district and the State, to 
keep me in a minority, the people among whom I live 
will bear testimony that I was no less faithful to them 
then, than I have been when, in later years, that mi- 
nority has, by the course of events, been changed into a 
majority. (Applause.) 

" In the midst of all these festivities and honors, my 
friends, my heart turns warmly to-night towards the 
life-long friends at home ; and I feel, indeed, that there 
is no man in the American Congress who has a constit- 
uency of which he has a greater right to be proud than 
I have of mine. With a generous forbearance to all 
my shortcomings, overlooking all deficiencies, they have 
sustained me ever with the unseen but magnetic power 
of their hearts, and strengthened me with their hands in 
all the contests and canvasses of the past ; and I shall 
go back, at the end of this Congress, to the private life 
to which I expect to retire, to live and die in the midst 
of those I love so faithfully and so well. 

" I have been glad to meet you here to-night, and I 
am glad that, notwithstanding our varied and antago- 
nizing political shades of opinion, we can thus sit down 
together in social harmony. We know there is to be a 



i/j.8 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

day coming when tlie ' lion and tlie lamb shall lie down 
together.' Some doubting Thomases think this will only 
be realized by the lamb being, at the time, inside of the 
lion. But, politically, the prophecy seems almost veri- 
fied to-night. 

" I cannot avoid saying a few words in relation to the 
profession to which we have devoted our lives. I think 
you cannot but acknowledge that the American Congress 
has not overlooked the press. Not only have they seen 
fit, for the first time in the history of Congress, to select 
an editor for the grave responsibilities which cluster 
around their presiding officer, but from the ranks of the 
same profession they have taken a gentleman for the 
next office in order, the Clerk of the House, and one 
whom with a modesty equal to his worth, I see blushes 
as I allude to him, (Mr. McPherson.) And besides these, 
we have also in the American Congress another gentle- 
man, a printer, acting as postmaster of the House. Hav- 
ing thus generously given a majority of all offices to the 
press, they have magnanimously allowed 'the rest of 
mankind' to take the remaining two offices. (Laughter 
and applause.) In the other branch of Congress, we 
have as Clerk of the Senate, John W. Forney, one of 
the most gifted and distinguished journalists of our 
times. The Vice-President of the United States, also, 
was a newspaper man, and I doubt not a good one. 
And so, also, was the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate, 
Mr. Brown, of Illinois. And if President Lincoln 
was not himself directly connected with the press, I 
think we can bear testimony to the fact of his having 
furnished material for innumerable editorials in its 
columns. (Laughter.) 

" You do not expect me to make an elaborate after- 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 149 

dinner speecli to-night, because the usage of a Speaker 
is not to make speeches, but to listen to them, and I ex- 
pect to have considerable of that latter duty to perform 
during the eventful Congress just opening. A few 
words before I sit down in regard to our profession. 
Next to the sacred desk and those who minister in it 
there is no profession more responsible than yours. 

" The editor cannot wait like the politician to see the 
set of the tide, but is required, as new necessities arise, 
not only to avow at once his sentiments upon them, but 
to discuss them intelligently and instructively. It is 
also his duty to guide and direct public opinion in the 
proper channels, and to lay before the readers of his 
sheet such matters as shall tend to the elevation of 
their character. I have sometimes thought that news- 
papers in their sphere might be compared to that ex- 
quisite mechanism of the universe, whereby the moisture 
is lifted from the earth, condensed into clouds, and poured 
back again in refreshing and fertilizing showers to bless 
the husbandman, and produce the abundant harvests. 
So, with the representatives of the press, they draw from 
public opinion, condense from public opinion, and finally 
reflect and re-distribute it back again in turn to its eleva- 
tion and purification. (Applause.) I think the American 
press, in the main, performs that duty faithfully and 
well. We can compare it with the press of any other 
land, and that, too, without blushing at the comparison. 
I need not say to you, my friends, that the press is a 
power in the land. Contrast the press to-day with what 
it was a century ago, or even but thirty years ago, and 
you will see how wonderful has been its onward march 
and power. But, with these responsibilities, come upon 



1 50 Life of Schuyler Co fax. 

you grave duties — duties not only to yourselveS; but to 
all your fellow-men. 

" I speak first of the duty of every representative of 
the American press to elevate its character. Wranglers 
and libellers amongst you not only dishonor themselves 
but the entire profession. 

" It is a duty you owe also to yourselves and to man- 
kind that your sheets should go pure from alloy into 
the family circle, where they are pondered over by the 
gray-haired grandfather as well as the young child just 
able to spell out the words you have woven into edi- 
torials. If my theory of life is true, an accidental allu- 
sion to which one morning caught the ear of your Presi- 
dent, and has been commented on by him, but which I 
come far short of living up to myself, that the highest 
personal duty is to seek to make those around you 
happier, how important is the point to which I have just 
alluded. Your papers, when marred by personal abuse, 
will sadden instead of gladden your readers, and become 
intruders at any hearth-stone where sunshine is desirable, 
instead of being welcome visitors. 

"In the second place, there is another grand duty 
devolved upon the press. It is the fostering and develop- 
ment of the patriotism which has been illustrated in so 
marked a degree in the crisis through which we are 
now passing. It is the invocations of the press going 
home to the hearts of the people, which have caused 
them to go forth and bare their breasts to the bullets 
of the enemy in defence of the integrity and perpetuity 
of this Union. It is the press that has elicited this 
marked development of the principles of humanity in 
our great struggle. 

"You see this development of principle in the re- 



• * 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 1 5 i 

iterated repetition of the acts of the good Samaritans, 
even to our wounded enemies, in the swelling stream of 
treasure that pours into the coffers of the Sanitary and 
Christian Commissions, and in the relief proffered with- 
out stint to our distressed prisoners at Kichmond, com- 
ing from our people all over the land. And this is 
because the invocations of the press have been listened 
to and responded to at the hearth-stones of the American 
people. So also is the development of manly patriotism. 
We have all read in our childhood of the injunction of 
the Spartan mother to her son, on going out to battle, 
' Come back with your shield, or upon it ;' and have 
there not been words of similar import uttered by thou- 
sands and tens of thousands of people through all the 
loyal States during the war in which we were engaged ? 
We have seen mothers sending out their first-born, who 
could have said, like the lad in the olden time, ' My 
sword is too short.' And have not these same mothers 
acted in the spirit of the famous reply, ' Add a step to 
it, and it will be long enough.' And thus the young 
and dearly cherished have gone from family and from 
home, even when scarcely matured, to endure the pri- 
vations of the camp and field, because their country was 
in danger, and they could die to save it. 

"For much of this ennobling patriotism, for these 
marked developments of humanity, I bless to-night 
the American press. [Applause.] 

" And, again, you have another duty to perform. It 
is the inculcation of morality among that large circle of 
people you thus reach. If the fountain is poisoned, the 
water that flows from it shall be poisoned too ; and those 
that drink of that water will have poison in their veins 
instead of the pure blood that gives health and strength. 



1 52 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

It is your duty to see that not by your aid shall these 
poisons reach your patrons, to spread moral miasma 
within the circle of your influences. Having thus, at 
greater length than I intended, alluded to the duties 
devolved upon us as journalists, I must again, before I 
resume my scat, warmly and gratefully thank you for 
your kindness manifested to me here. This night shall 
be marked with a white stone in the history of my 
life. And as I look back, in the days that are to come, 
if God spares my life, I shall never forget these hours we 
have so happily passed together. 

"For the great honor you have done me to-night, for 
such a reception as you have given me, I feel, with the 
Irish orator, like saying, ' My heart would shake hands 
with all of you.' [Laughter and applause.] And I beg 
leave to give you a sentiment as a platform on which all 
of us can safely stand : 

" The American- Press : If inspired by patriotism, 
morality, and humanity, it cannot fail to develop a con- 
stantly increasing vis^or, power, and consequent inde- 
pendence." [Loud and continued applause.] 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 153 



CHAP TEE, XVIII 

KINDNESS OF MR. COLFAX — HOMILY FOR THE THOUGHT- 
FUL — OBLIGATIONS OF JOURNALISTS — USE OF EXPERI- 
ENCE — SOCIAL DUTIES — INCIDENT FROM ARNOLD'S 
" LINCOLN AND SLAVERY " — LASTING FRIENDSHIP. 

Mr. Wilkeson, in his speech at the '' Press Dinner," 
speaks of the kindness of Mr. Colfax. It is a character- 
istic of his nature. Kindness, gentleness and abounding 
benevolence he has abundantly exemplified, and often 
warmly and eloquently advocated. A Homily for the 
Thoughtful, written early in his editorial life, and win- 
ningly persuasive of excellent things, was but a key- 
note of what has pervaded his whole career. It is here 
given as a specimen of what, besides that which was 
political, found its way into the editorial columns of 
the Register: 

A HOMILY FOR THE THOUGHTFUL. 

"The public journalist, who, with his single pen, 
writes to his hundreds or thousands of readers, who 
does not sometimes, at least, point their attention and 
direct their thoughts to social as well as political duties 
and responsibilities, fails to fill up the sphere of his 
vocation — neglects one of his most palpable and impera- 
tive obligations. We have preferred waiting until this, 
the last month of winter's reign — which, if the analogy 
of the seasons with the eras of actual life is as marked 
and as instructive as we think it is, should be the last 
month of the year — to ask a moment's attention to themes, 
which none will say are hackneyed in our columns. 



T 54 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

" We live but vainly, idly, uselessly, if the lessons of 
the past fail to make us wiser. We live, not like reason- 
ing, intelligent beings, if we draw a thick veil over that 
portion of our life, which is beyond our reach, and thus 
prevent the light of its experience from illumining the 
yet untrodden pathway of the future. Each beat of our 
pulse — each throbbing of our heart — brings us nearer to 
the grave. And, though sects may differ as to its reali- 
ties, each night that passes away in its dream of forget- 
fulness, leaves us one day less of our span of being — and 
hurries us forward, towards that innumerable company 
that have passed away from earth's busy scenes forever. 
We proffer, therefore, no apology to any, for striving 
to direct, if possible, a moment's thought upon a few of 
the social duties which, as responsible beings, we owe 
to the community in which we dwell. 

" How many of those whose eyes are glancing over 
these sentences have made the world happier for their 
presence in the last twelvemonth ? Whose woes have 
you alleviated? Whose miseries have you soothed? 
Whose hard and rigorous lot have you softened? 
Whose sick-bed have you attended ? Whose sufferings 
have you mitigated? Cast your thoughts backward, 
and pause as faithful memory presents to you her tab- 
lets. Are they all blank ? Is there not one tear dried 
up — one heart made happier, to redeem them from their 
vacant nothingness ? If so, heed the counsels and pledge 
the resolves that the still, small voice within commends, 
at this moment, for your adoption. The busy cares of 
life — the toils of traffic and of business — too often cause 
us all to forget and neglect these duties. But they are 
duties and obligations still, which can neither be denied 
or evaded. The glittering stars that gem the firmament 



'Life of Schuyler Colfax, 155 

at night still shine above us when the sun rides high in 
the heavens; and though his glare obscures them from 
our view, they are still there as brilliant and as numer- 
ous as ever. So it is with our duties. Though obscured 
or hidden by the press of business, the toils of life, or 
the burthen of domestic cares, still, if we would turn our 
thoughts and eyes upon our hearts — if we would dissi- 
pate the clouds that darken our consciences, we would 
see these obligations as clearly as we can discern the 
constellations of heaven when they gladden our vision 
with their undimmed brilliancy. He who has realized 
in his heart, as well as in his judgment, that we are sent 
here together — the rich and the poor, the learned and 
the unlearned, the noble and the humble — not as cum- 
berers of the earth, but as bearers of each other's bur- 
dens, has learned, one of the great truths of life. 

*' Have you been just to all men ? Not honest only 
— not upright only — but just in the widest and fullest 
acceptance of the word. Art thou wealthy, and hast 
thou acted the miser ? The poorest man on earth is a 
more valued citizen. If there is one who reads this, 
whose pattern and whose model is a Shylock — who has 
oppressed the hireling in his wages — who has laid a 
heavy hand upon the honest, but impoverished debtor 
— the earth is not happier for Ms presence. If there is 
one whose impulses of humanity have been petrified 
by the lust for gold, whose generosity has dried up into 
avarice, and who knows from hearsay only and not 
from experience, that charity twice blesses — blessing 
both him that gives and him that takes — the earth is 
not happier for his presence. But to turn the subject 
into the channel of business life, the man who takes 
advantage of his creditor's forgetfulness, has not been 



156 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

* just to all men.' The debtor who glances over a bill of 
his indebtedness and rejoices secretly to find some chiirge 
omitted, may wear the garb of honesty, but he is not 
just, not upright. He who forgets or neglects his obli- 
gations, forgets the claims of justice. Need we point out 
an instance? When sickness comes with paralyzing 
hand — when fever's scorching heats are felt, whose 
footsteps at the door sound most welcome? When 
some loved relative lies in the very crisis of disease, 
how anxiously is the face of the physician scanned — 
how every word that falls from his lips is caught at — 
how every hope hangs upon his counsel, and how you 
strive to look through his expressive eyes, the windows 
of the soul, to read his secret thoughts. When life 
trembles in the balance, how hushed is every sound as 
he keeps his vigils by the bedside, and labors with pro- 
fessional skill, that has cost him years of study and re- 
flection, to preserve the soul and body, mind and matter, 
in their mysterious companionship. And yet, when 
health comes back, when the cheek again feels the 
warmth of life, when the nerves and sinews again 
become obedient servants to their master, how often, 
nay, how almost universally, is the pilot who brought 
the patient safely through the stormy conflict of Life 
with Death forgotten, until the hour of peril and of 
pain again calls him to duty? Habit, 'tis true, may 
palliate, but it cannot vindicate such injustice. Though 
now last paid of all other debts, he who is the guardian 
of your life, the protector of your health, should, after 
your Creator, receive the first fruits of your labor. 
Have you heard your neighbor slandered, when his 
absence gave license to his slanderers, and have you 
failed to perform that most grateful of all duties, the 



' Life of Schuyler Colfax. 157 

vindication of a friend's fair fame and character ? 
Have you suffered your tongue to blacken the reputa- 
tion of some female ? Have you indulged in dark and 
covert insinuations — in half-expressed slanders — upon 
one of a sex who should receive the protection and 
love, instead of incurring the hate and hostility of man ? 
Then indeed you have not been just. 

*'Have you warned your fellow-men from error's 
path? Warned them, we mean, by example as well as 
precept ? You see around you intemperance upon the 
increase. You see your neighbor, your brother-man, 
yielding to its temptations. You see the strong bands 
of habit encircling him — the chains riveting upon his 
limbs. And do you pause and hesitate to utter that 
word of kind entreaty which may draw him back from 
the yawning chasm before him ? Grant, if you please, 
that your unselfish appeals are answered only by curses 
and by sneers ; and yet the duty is a duty still — more 
imminent, more imperative, as the danger is more 
threatening. Whether clothed in costly raiment or in 
rags, he is your neighbor and your brother. Formed 
as he is by the same Creator, bearing the same impress 
upon his brow, can you suffer him to go on in his mad 
career, unwarned of the rayless gloom and comfortless 
despair that clouds and embitters the last hours of the 
wretched inebriate? Dare you follow in the footsteps of 
the marked man, Cain, who insultingly asked, 'Am I 
my brother's keeper ?' He who suffers a fellow-man to 
plunge unwarned into the abyss of ruin is equally 
guilty with the heartless being who could suffer a blind 
man to stalk on until he stumbles from the brink of a 
precipice upon the sharp and jutting rocks below. 

*'The subject opens and widens before us, but we 



158 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

have exceeded the space for it and must break off. We 
leave the thoughts hurriedly glanced at for the calm 
consideration of those who think — for action, too, as 
well as thought. With all others, they will of course 
pass as the water through the sieve, leaving no trace 
behind." 

To the practical exhibitions of this genial benevolence, 
Mr. Arnold, in his book on ''Lincoln and Slavery," 
refers: ''The following incident is so characteristic of 
Speaker Colfax, and so well illustrates that goodness 
of heart and sweetness of disposition for which he is 
distinguished, that, although perhaps out of place here, 
I cannot omit it. The last days of the session were, as 
such days always are, full of cares and perplexities, 
every thing and everybody hurried and impatient; yet, 
through all, Colfax retained his amiability. On the last 
night of the session, when going into the Speaker's room, 
I saw a basket of most beautiful flowers marked, * Mrs. 
(7., with kind regards of Mr. Coif ax J This lady was 
the wife of an officer of the House, and was very ill. 
This kind consideration, that did not forget the wife of 
a subordinate, even in that last hurried night of the 
session, shows an unselfish heart, somewhat too rare 
among politicians." 

The following incident, occurring several years ago, 
narrated and published by the president of a literary 
institution at Valparaiso, in Northern Indiana, is also 
illustrative of the character of Mr. Colfax : 

"As we stepped into the Bank yesterday-, we noticed 
lying on the counter a large and splendid photograph of 
our noble representative. Speaker Colfax. It is the 
most life-like picture that we have ever seen of this 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 159 

honored statesman. But our attention was particularly 
attracted to the bold and easy autograph of the Speaker, 
running thus: 'To Mark L. McClelland, from his life- 
long friend, Schuyler Colfax.' We casually remarked 
to our worthy citizen, McClelland, that that autograph, 
so cordial, was a testimonial of personal regard of which 
any man in the nation might well be proud. Mr. M. 
raised his ever-busy pen from the bank ledger, and 
with evident emotion said : ' That is just like Schuyler. 
We were playmates and debating-school friends in our 
boyhood, grew up together, he as an editor, and I as 
a tanner. But our different vocations produced no 
estrangement. We usually spent our leisure hours 
together. But soon his industry and talents began to 
attract attention, and no one rejoiced more in his prefer- 
ment than I. His reputation soon became national, 
while I have ever plodded on in private ; but in all this 
disparity I have ever found in him a steadfast, generous 
friend. From a sense of delicacy, our correspondence 
would have stopped years ago, had it depended on me ; 
for I have ever felt his superiority, and felt that I might 
be obtrusive, as I knew that the multiplicity of his 
engagements and his official duties must occupy his whdle 
time ; and that he must find in his extensive acquaintance 
hundreds more worthy of his attention than I; but he 
still corresponds with me, advising me of his plans as 
fully and freely as when we were both poor boys. It is 
a wonder,' said Mr. M., 'and that reminds me of a little 
occurrence in a stage-coach, years ago. We accidentally 
met as we were both going to Indianapolis — he to confer 
with the magnates of the State on the grave matters of 
the nation, I to do some private business. As usual 
the conversation turned on the scenes and events of our 



i6o Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

boyhood. "While we were chatting over these matters, 
I could not realize that I was in genial communion with 
the third man in the nation. I at once fell into moody 
musings on this strange transition from a playful boy to 
the sagacious statesman. I was thinking of his stead- 
fast friendship, and was finally roused from my reverie 
by Mr. Colfax playfully placing his hand on my knee, 
with the smiling question, ' What now, Mark V ' I was 
thinking,' said I, ' how strange it is, in all your prefer- 
ment, that, surrounded as you are daily with scores of 
men whose position, influence and profession would 
necessarily seem to supplant me in your regards, that 
you still seem to retain for me the same fervor of friend- 
ship that you did when a boy.' Grasping my hand 
warmly, he replied, 'No marvel at all, Mark. Your 
friendship I know to be sincere, for it sprung up when 
both of us were boys, in poverty and obscurity, and 
neither of us could possibly anticipate the future.' 

" This little incident gives us a clue to the head and 
heart of Mr. Colfax. It is a key to his inner life. It 
discloses to us, without reserve, the generous impulses, 
the unswerving fidelity, the genial nature, and the uner- 
ring sagacity of this noble man. Amid all his honors, 
he has lost nothing of his child-like simplicity, his Chris- 
tian integrity, his patriotic faith. 

" Schuyler Colfax is one of the few of our national 
diocnitaries who ever carries both the head of a man and 
the true heart of a guileless boy. Such a man can never 
be corrupted, even by the wiles of politics. 

" Though this little incident was not designed for a 
newspaper paragraph, yet, as it is so illustrative of the 
high-toned nature of Mr. Colfax, we trust our neighbor 
McClelland will pardon us for giving it publicity." 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. i6i 



CHAPTER XIX. 

LECTUEE — EDUCATION" OF THE HEART — THE TEACHER'S 
VOCATION — ELEMENTS OF WORTH IN CHARACTER — 
ELOQUENT PLEA FOR THINGS PURE AND GOOD. 

A LECTURE by Mr. Colfax, entitled "Education of the 
Heart," delivered at the commencement exercises of 
Aurora (Illinois) Seminary, June, 1867, is a plea for 
things pure and excellent, and of good report, which re- 
flects features of his own character, and makes us more 
familiar with his worth. In the principles and practices 
it so eloquently advocates, it is but an expression in 
words of that which has governed him in his career. 
This lecture has received high commendation from such 
men as ex-Governor Boutwell, of Massachusetts, who 
was also at one time Superintendent of Public Instruction 
in that State. It has been widely circulated in this 
country, and has been reprinted in pamphlet form in 
England : 

EDUCATION OF THE HEART. 

''In all the realm of animated nature there is nothing 
so absolutely helpless as a child when it first opens its 
eyes upon the world. And yet there \s, nothing of vaster 
importance. The greatest works of art will perish. The 
cataract of Niagara will cease to flow. The proudest 
nation, whose conquering eagles have defied a continent, 
will pass away. But the sleeping infant, in its mother's 
arms, enshrines a soul that shall live, in joy or misery, 
throughout the countless ages of eternity; and may even, 
in its brief span of earthly years, like Moses, David, 



1 62 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

or Paul; or Homer, Plato, or Demostlienes; or Caesar, 
Washington, or Lincoln; or Zenobia, Joan of Arc, or 
Florence Nightingale, so live that history shall never tire 
of the record of its deeds while time doth last or this 
earth of ours endure. 

" We come, too, into this breathing world with good 
and evil mysteriously combined within us. Our souls 
are immortal, and we are created in the image of God. 
But a little time, comparatively, passes by before the 
child develops temper, self-will, defiance, anger, revenge, 
in a greater or milder degree, and compels that parental 
restraint so valuable and necessary in every household. 
And thus the spirit of Good and the spirit of Evil strug- 
gle for the mastery in every heart. With every good 
impulse drawing us toward the right, and every wicked 
temptation and unrestrained passion drawing us toward 
the wrong, we commence the earnest, ceaseless battle for 
life. 

** * Our birth is but a starting-place, 
Life is the running of the race, 
And death the goal. ' 

" Properly trained, conscientiously directed, the child 
grows up into the affectionate, enlightened, energetic, 
self-denying man or woman, an honor and a blessing to 
the community, loved while living, and when life's fitful 
fever is over, remembered by many hearts long after the 
funeral flowers of the cemetery have blossomed on their 
grave. But how different his life and character, who, 
unblessed by healthful and virtuous surroundings, or 
madly defying them all, cultivates only the evil side 
of his nature ! Like the rank weed of your garden, it 
soon extirpates all that is good and valuable ; and you 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 163 

see before you a life, of wliicli you cannot truthfully say 
that it is worthless, because it is far worse. 

" All around us we see this contest. And the respon- 
sibilities for its results lie at our very door. Whether 
those who are to come after us shall have every advan- 
tage to arm and strengthen themselves against the in- 
fluence of evil depends in a large degree on the conduct 
of the generation which precedes them in the family 
circle, or the wider sphere of the community wherein 
they dwell. 

*' It is men that make the State. An island full of 
savages can be nothing but a savage State. Where the 
people worship idols of wood and stone, mankind call it 
a heathen State. A country of impure men must be an 
impure State. But where morality and intelligence pre- 
vail, and right bears sway, and conscience is respected 
and obeyed, the on-looking world recognizes that there is 
a country worthy to be embraced in the circle of Chris- 
tendom, and to rank high among the civilized States of 
the earth. 

" The hope of any country must therefore always be 
with its young. With them we see the candle of life, 
not like us of middle age, half consumed, but just lit ; 
and so to be trimmed that it shall burn brighter and 
brighter till it expires in the socket. And this fact has 
been recognized in every age of the world. Heraclitus, 
who twenty-five hundred years ago was called the crying 
philosopher, refused to accept the chief magistracy of his 
nation, preferring to spend his time in educating children 
than even to govern the corrupt Ephesians. Cataline, 
when he sought, two thousand years ago, to overthrow 
the liberties of his country, and — as traitors in our own 
era have done — to act the parricide toward the land 



1 64 J^}f^ of Schuyler Colfax, 

whicli had given him birth, and honors, and power, at- 
tempted first to corrupt the younger RomanS; and thus 
to win them to his nefarious endeavors. 

" If you concede, then — as you must, for history is 
full of its proofs — that the hope of a country is with its 
young, how priceless are the hundreds of institutions 
like this, and the tens of thousands of schools of other 
grades in which our land rejoices to-day! How truly 
did Cicero declare: 'Study cherishes youth, delights 
age, adorns prosperity, furnishes support in adversity, 
tarries with us by night and by day, and attends us in 
all our journeyings and wanderings!' And again, when 
on another occasion that eloquent orator eulogized Wis- 
dom: 'For what is there,' said he, ' more desirable than 
wisdom? What more excellent and lovely in itself? 
What more useful and becoming for a man? or what 
more worthy of his reasonable nature?' And, in the 
inspired record, Solomon, in even a loftier strain than 
the master of Roman eloquence, exclaims: 'Happy is 
the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth 
understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than 
the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine 
gold. Length of days is in her right hand, and in her 
left band riches and honor. She is a tree of life to them 
that lay hold upon her, and happy is every one that re- 
taineth her. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee. She 
shall bring to thy head an ornament of grace. A crown 
of glory shall she deliver to thee.' 

" Recognizing, as I trust all of you do, without further 
argument or illustration, that the mind, like the earth, 
yields the richest fruit only when cultivated, T wish to 
improve this opportunity, accidentally opened to me, by 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 165 

a few remarks, first to the TeacherS; and lastly to the 
Taught. 

" Of all the earthly professions I know of none more 
honorable, more useful, wider-reaching in its influence 
than the profession of the teacher. If faithful in this 
vocation, he has a right to claim, as John Howard 
did, that his monument should be a sun-dial, not ceas- 
ing to be useful even after death. He is to so fill the 
fountains of the minds committed to his charge that 
from thence shall ever flow streams fertilizing and 
beneficent ; and he is to be the exemplar for the young 
before him in healthful moral influence, which is the 
foundation of character. 

''As no one is fit to be an officer in war who has not 
heroic blood in his veins, or to be an artist who has no 
esthetic taste, or to be a poet who does not understand 
the power of rhythm or meter, or to be a historian or 
a statesman without a broad and comprehensive mind, 
so no one should be a teacher who has not a heart full 
of love for the profession, and an energy and enthusiasm 
willing joyously to confront all its responsibilities. It 
requires great patience, untiring industry, abounding 
kindness, pure unselfishness, and fidelity to duty and 
principle. And when happily combined, success is ab- 
solutely assured. 

"And first let me say, as children resemble their parents 

in feature, so will they resemble in character the teacher 

who trains their youthful years. If that teacher has an 

excess of the gall of bitter aess instead of the milk of 

human kindness, its daily exhibition will assist in the 

development of the evil side of all who witness it. But 

if, on the contrary, he or she brings sunshine into the 

room when they enter — difiuses happiness, by genial 
10 



i66 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

conduct, on all around tliem — plays on the heart-strings 
of their pupils by the mystic power of love — the very 
atmosphere thus created will be warm with affection 
and trusting confidence; and that better nature which 
is ever struggling within us for the mastery over evil, 
will be strengthened and developed into an activity 
which will give it healthful power for all after-life. 

"It is for this reason the teacher should ever be just 
what he would have his pupils become, that they may 
learn by the precept of exam,ple as well as by the precept 
of instruction. He should find the way to the heart of 
every one within his circle, and lead him thereby into 
the walks of knowledge and virtue, not driving by will, 
but attracting by love. And if he searches faithfully he 
will find the heart of even the most wayward. It may 
be overlaid with temper, selfishness, even with wicked- 
ness; but it can be, nay, it must be, reached and touched. 

" The teacher, too, should be an exemplar in punctual- 
ity, order, and discipline, for in all these his pupils will 
copy him. He can only obtain obedience by himself 
obeying the laws he is to enforce. A minister who does 
not practice what he preaches will find that his most earn- 
est exhortations fall heedless on leaden ears ; and children 
of both a smaller and a larger growth quickly detect 
similar inconsistencies. Whoever would rightly guide 
youthful footsteps must lead correctly himself; and one 
of our humorous writers has compressed a whole volume 
into a sentence when he says, 'to train up a child in the 
way he should go, walk in it yourself.^ 

" Finally, let the teacher, recognizing the true nobility 
and the far-reaching influence of his profession, stretch- 
ing beyond mature years, or middle age, or even the last 
of earth, and beyond the stars to a deathless eternity, 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 167 

pursue his daily duties with ardor, with earnestness of 
purpose, with tireless energy. And let him feel that as 
a State is honored by its worthiest sons — as Kentucky 
enshrines the name of her Clay, and Tennessee her 
Jackson, and Massachusetts her Adams, Webster and 
Everett, and Khode Island her Koger Williams, and 
Pennsylvania her Franklin, and Illinois her Lincoln 
and JSTew York and Virginia their scores of illustrious 
sons — so will his pupils rise up to honor him if he so 
trains them as to be worthy of their honor. Success will 
be his if he but deserves it. Governor Boutwell, who 
added to his fame as chief magistrate of Massachusetts 
by gracing for years the superintendencyof her unrivalled 
educational system, said truly and tersely: 'Those who 
succeed are the men who believe they can succeed ; and 
those who fail are those to whom success would have 
been a surprise.' 

" I pass from this rapid review of the duties of a Teacher 
to a few thoughts addressed more especially to Students. 
Let me leave the beaten road of educational addresses, 
and saying nothing of history, geography, grammar, 
astronomy, mathematics, the languages, and other special 
accomplishments, ask your attention to characteristics 
that it seems to me should be cultivated and developed. 
Not that I would not inculcate, primarily, every possible 
acquisition of knowledge. Learn all we can in a life- 
time, and we shall feel at last like that eminent and self- 
taught Grecian philosopher, Socrates, who said that all 
he professed to know was that he knew nothing; or as 
Isaac Newton more strikingly expressed the same idea 
in his oft- quoted simile, that he felt like a child on the 
shore of time, picking up a few pebbles, while the great 
ocean lay unexplored before him. But I would improve 



i63 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

these passing moments by some suggestions as to those 
elements of character and thought that seem essential to 
a well-rounded life. And in using the masculine in re- 
ferring to students as well as teachers, I do it for brevity 
only, intending of course to include both sexes. For 
neither sex is inferior or superior as such. Man is fitted 
by nature for rough contact with the world. Woman 
for the more graceful duties of the domestic circle. Man 
for the hard, stern, laborious labor of life. Woman to 
really rule the world, by being the mothers of those who 
are to govern it. 

'' Conspicuous among these characteristics is the duty 
of Self-control, and its natural offspring, Self-reliance. 
The great maxim of Socrates was, 'Know thyself — 
the famous inscription on the Delphic temple, which the 
ancients claimed came down from the skies. I cannot, 
in a brief address, even allude to all which is embraced 
in these two comprehensive words — self-control. The 
inspired record declares in language which combines 
counsel with prophecy : ' He that is slow to anger is 
better than the mighty ; and he that ruleth his spirit 
than he that taketh a city.' You must master yourself. 
You must rule your passions and your temper, or they 
will rule you. It is strength to have moral principle. 
It is strength to stand up against shocks of adversity. 
It is strength to be calm and self-contained, even when 
the arrows of malice pierce you most cruelly. It is 
strength to perform your whole duty to man without 
hope of reward. The man of unbending moral principle 
is a real hero. The man who stands erect, with his heel 
on the demon of temptation, hydra-headed as it is, is 
nobler and stronger than the most gifted statesman or 
the conquering chief. The taint of sin gives all of us 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 169 

passions, temper, and evil, and opens a hundred avenues 
to the tempter. To close them all, and to live true to 
yourself and the right, is to bless your own heart while 
you bless mankind. Your character is to be built up 
like a dam in a river. While being compacted and solid- 
ified, the restrained waters, like evil passions and wicked 
impulses, seek to break through; a single breach, and 
it witlens; and at last the torrent destroys. But guard 
against the smallest fracture, and it is safe, and strength- 
ens year by year, until at last, firm as the anchored 
rock, it breasts the mightiest floods and freshets un- 
harmed. Without this enlightened, unyielding self-con- 
trol, our life is like a ship, without compass or rudder, 
blown about by every wind, and at last wrecked upon 
the beach. But with it, it is like the same ship with a 
safe, strong arm at the helm, that holds her to her course 
when the storm-cloud lowers or the angry gale seeks to 
drive her toward the breakers, that avoids the shoals 
and hidden rocks, and brings her safely into port. 

" In this endeavor fail not to war against Vice in all its 
myriad forms. Evil is often robed in splendid attire ; 
but however gorgeous the monumental shaft, yet within 
is always corruption and decay. The apple may appear 
tempting and beautiful to the eye, but if the canker-worm 
is at the core, it is destined to a rottenness no earthly 
power can avert. It is the first approach, too, which 
should be most sternly repulsed. Each temptation, from 
without or from within, which moral rectitude enables 
us to resist, leaves us that much stronger for the next 
encounter. But woe to her or him who yields. At each 
successive attack the moral stamina becomes weaker and 
weaker, as tlie walls of even a Sebastopol lose their pro- 



lyo Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

tective value whenever a single breach in them is made. 
How truthfully has a gifted poet declared : 

*' ' We are not worst at once. The course of evil 
Begins so slowly, and from such slight source, 
An infant's hand could stem its breach with clay. 
But let the stream grow deeper, and Philosophy, 
Aye, and Religion, too, shall strive in vain 
To stem the headlong torrent.' 

''All writers on education agree that the chief means 
of intellectual improvement are five : Observation, Con- 
versation, Reading, Memory, and Reflection. But I 
have sometimes thought that educators did not bring 
out the two last into the commanding and paramount im- 
portance they deserve, sacrificing them to a wider range 
of reading and of studies. Knowledge is not what we 
learn, but what we retain. It is not what people eat 
but what they digest, that makes them strong. It is not 
the amount of money they handle, but what they save^ 
that makes them rich. It is not what they read or study, 
but what they remember, that makes them learned. And 
memory, too, is one of those wondrous gifts of God to 
man that should be assiduously cultivated. Much of 
your mental acquisitions will form a secret fund, locked 
up even from your own eyes till you need to bring it 
into use ; a mystery that no philosopher has yet been, 
or ever will be, able to explain. There it lies hidden, 
weeks, months, years, and scores of years, till may- 
hap a half century afterward it bursts when needed, at 
memory's command, upon the mind like a hidden spring 
bubbling up at the very hour of need in the pathway of 
the thirsty traveller. 

*' While I have counselled self-reliance, and would go 
further and urge you to labor to deserve the good 



' Life of Schuyler Colfax. 171 

opinion of your fellow-men, I do not counsel that longing 
for Fame which is so much more largely developed under 
our free Eepublic than in any other realm upon the 
globe. Lord Mansfield once uttered as advice, what 
history teaches us he should have declared as an axiom, 
that that popularity is alone valuable and enduring 
which follows you, not that which you run after. It 
was Sumner Lincoln Fairfield who wrote : 

*' ' Fame ! 'tis the madness of contending thought, 
Toiling in tears, aspiring in despair ; 
Which steals like Love's delirium o'er the brain, 
And, while it buries childhood's purest joys, 
Wakes manhood's dreary agonies into life.' 

*' Far be it from me to counsel longings for such a fame 
as this. * Toiling in tears, aspiring in despair' is but a 
poor preparation for the enjoyment of popular honors or 
the performance of public trusts. And there is an ex- 
ceedingly better way. It is to cjimb, young men, with 
buoyant heart, the hill of knowledge. It is to boldly 
scale the Alps and Apennines which ever rear them- 
selves in your pathway. It is to feel your sinews 
strengthen, as they will, with every obstacle you sur- 
mount. It is to huild yourself, developing mental 
strength, untiring energy, and sleepless zeal, fervent 
patriotism, and earnest principle, until the public shall 
feel that you are the man they need, and that they must 
command you into the public service. And if per- 
chance that call should not happen to come, and you 
should be forced to remain an American sovereign in- 
stead of becoming a public servant, you shall have your 
reward in the rich stores of knowledge you have thus 
collected, and which shall ever be at your command. 
More valuable than earthly treasure — while fleets may 



172 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

sink, and storehouses consume, and banks may totter, 
and riches flee — the intellectual investments you have 
thus made will be permanent and enduring, unfailing as 
the constant flow of Niagara or Amazon ; a bank whose 
dividends are perpetual, whose wealth is undiminished, 
however frequent the drafts upon it, which, though moth 
may impair, yet which thieves cannot break through nor 
steal. Nor will you be able to fill these storehouses to 
their full. Pour into a glass a stream of water, and at 
last it fills to the brim and will not hold another drop. 
But you may pour into your mind, through a whole life- 
time, streams of knowledge from every conceivable 
quarter, and not only shall it never be full, but it will 
constantly thirst for more, and welcome each fresh 
supply with a greater joy. Nay, more. To all around, 
you may impart of these gladdening streams which have 
so fertilized your own mind ; and yet, like the candle 
from which a thousand other candles may be lit without 
diminishing its flame, your own supply shall not be im- 
paired. On the contrary, your knowledge, as you add 
to it, will itself attract still more as it widens your realm 
of thought ; and thus will you realize in your own life, 
the parable of the Ten Talents, for ' to him that hath 
shall be given.' 

" I cannot pass by in silence another characteristic so 
necessary for a worthy, useful, honored life. It is that 
Moral Courage which sustains those who stand frankly, 
fearlessly, inflexibly for what their conscience tells them 
is right. Vox populi has not always been Vox Dei, and 
when it requires of you what duty to yourself or your 
country forbids you to perform, it is Vox diaholi. From 
the graves of the fathers of our land come the words 
both of instruction and example ; teaching us rather to 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 173 

imitate, as they did; the fearlessness of Paul when he 
stood, proudly and alone, before Felix, than the craven 
cowardice of Pilate when he shrunk from what he con- 
fessed to be his duty before a blinded and infuriated 
populace. Truth may have, as in the olden time, but a 
single worshipper, while Baal has his thousands of 
priests. And the man who stands fearlessly for the 
right amid the devotees of wrong; who wars, single- 
handed if need be, against tyranny or treason where evil 
and injustice have their legions of minions; who loves 
the good and follows in its ways because it is the right, 
and eschews error and wickedness however easy or 
profitable may be its service ; who calmly and confi- 
dently looks to the future for his vindication ; and who, 
like Christian, in that sacred Iliad, the ' Pilgrim's Pro- 
gress,' presses forward in the journey of life with steady 
and fearless step, regardless of Apollyon, of Vanity 
Fair, or even the giant Despair — that man, whether in 
palace or cottage, under a republican or despotic flag, 
the most learned or the most illiterate of his land, is the 
true moral victor on the battle-field of life. He shall 
have his reward ; for in that land where the streets are 
gold, and the gates are pearl, and the walls are jasper 
and sapphire, his star of victory shall shine brighter and 
brighter ; while the laurels of sceptre and of crown, of 
office and of fame, shall wither into the dust and ashes 
out of which they were formed. 

" How forcibly were all these duties imprinted on my 
mind while listening, some years since, to a lecture for 
young men from that twice-repeated proverb of Solo- 
mon, ' There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, 
but the end thereof are the ways of Death !' And as 
these ways v/ere pointed out, I was reminded of one of 



174 I^\f^ of Schuyler Colfax, 

the precepts of that eminent philosopher, Pythagoras, 
who, though born in Samos nearly six hundred years 
before the Christian era, converted by his teachings a 
wicked and corrupt nation to sobriety, virtue, and 
frugality, and whose quaint simile seemed to be based 
upon that very inculcation of the Old Testament. It 
was, ' Kemember that the paths of virtue and of vice 
resemble the letter Y.' Starting at the same point, the 
roads soon diverge to the right and to the left. It was 
Persius, I think, who, hundreds of years afterwards, 
wrote of this precept : 

*' * There did the Samian Y instruction make, 
Pointed the road thy doubtful foot should take, 
There warned thy faltering and unpractised youth 
To tread the rising right-hand path of Truth.' 

** Thus shall you win the noble attribute of virtuous 
self-reliance — not the arrogance of egotism and the 
vanity of self-esteem — but the manly independence of 
a manly mind — the fidelity to your own conscience and 
to principle — the assurance that if you have planted 
yourself on the rock of Truth, if you have armed your- 
self with the panoply of Justice, if you have guarded 
yourself with the shield of Eight, ' even the gates of 
hell shall not prevail against you.' 

"Nor can I leave this boundless theme, which widens 
before me as I progress, without alluding to that Duty 
which towers above all others, both in the magnitude 
of its sphere and the commanding authority of Him 
who proclaimed it. Up through the long procession of 
centuries our mind travels back to the sacred mount 
where the assembled multitudes from Galilee, and De- 
capolis; and Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyonc 
Jordan, listened reverently to Him who spoke as 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 175 

never man had spoken before. And after that striking 
exordium of blessings, and the subsequent inculcations 
of love, of charity, of concord, of forbearance, of humility, 
and of prayer, he opened the peroration of that extra- 
ordinary discourse which stands without a rival in the 
realm of sacred or human eloquence, with that which 
he announced as the embodiment and concentration of 
all: 

"'Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that 
men should do to you, do you even so to them ; for this 
is the law and the prophets.' 

*' Some there are who regard this comprehensive rule 
of action and of life as paraphrased from that eminent 
and learned Chinese philosopher, Confucius, who, five 
hundred years before, had laid down as a maxim that 
none should do unto their fellows what they would not 
have done to themselves. But apart from the broad 
distinction between the affirmative command of the one 
and the bare negation of the other, the rule itself, thus 
laid down on the Mount, is but a repetition and con- 
densation of what the Creator had declared to Moses, in 
the tabernacle of the Congregation, a thousand years 
before Confucius lived and died: 'Thou shall not 
defraud thy neighbor, neither rob him ;' 'Thou shalt 
not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of 
the people.' And then, rising from the language of 
prohibition to that of command, here, in the same spirit 
as on the Mount fifteen centuries after, the conclusion 
of the whole matter is, 'But thou shalt love thy neigh- 
bor as thyself.' 

" Such is the Rule of all Rules — the Duty of all Duties 
—the Law of all Laws — for human conduct in this wide 
world of ours. How it sparkles in its brilliancy, in 



176 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

contrast with the Iron Eule of tyranny, which teaches 
that ' might makes right !' How it glows in the firma- 
ment, when compared with what has been called the 
Silver Rule of the earth, which bids you to mete out to 
others as they have measured to you ! Rightly has the 
whole civilized world recognized the inspired command 
as indeed the Golden Rule. And if lived up to by all 
on earth, what a paradise would it make of this globe I 
May it ever go before you as the pillar of fire of old, 
guiding your footsteps as well as governing your lives ! 
" I cannot close this address, which you have already 
found has treated of the education of the heart more 
than of the mind — the moral nature more than the intel- 
lectual — without insisting that all of you have it in 
your power to make this world happier and better by 
your presence in it, and that you have no right to hide 
this power in a napkin. Look around you on every 
side as you go out from these walls into the busy 
world. You will find some, selfish, cold, austere, 
repulsive, forbidding. No noble charity afiects their 
souls. No unselfish deed warms their natures. No 
generous act unlocks their hearts. No blessings are 
invoked upon their heads. Living for self alone, they 
carry with them to their graves hearts of steel and 
faces of iron. But there are others active in every 
good word and work. Is there a cry of distress? 
They do not lecture the unfortunate, but promptly 
proffer the helping hand. Is there misery to be assuaged ? 
Is there a wounded heart that needs the oil of consola- 
tion? Do the rough winds of adversity smite their 
neighbor? — and all mankind is your neighbor. How 
cheerfully they speed on the errand of humanity ! How 
joyously they go forth on their labor of love! My 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 177 

young friends, the true felicity of this world is in making 
others happy. It is this which fills your own soul with 
joy. It is this which causes a constant influx of glad- 
ness into your own heart. For in blessing others you 
bless yourself. To me the most beautiful couplet in the 
English language is — 

*' ' Count that day loU whose low descending sun 
Views from thy hand no noble action done.' 

** None of us can live up to this noble lesson of life fully ; 
but in striving towards this ideal you shall diffuse a 
genial sunshine around you, which will make yon, in 
many hearts, beloved while living and mourned when 
dead. Lord Bacon said most beautifully that 'man's 
heart was not an island, cut off from all other lands, but 
a continent which joins them.' And if you will thus, 
while educating the intellect and enlarging the mind, 
and filling yourselves with the priceless knowledge you 
acquire here, and which is to fit you for useful members 
of society hereafter, also educate the hearty widening 
the sphere of your affections and the scope of your duty 
to the less fortunate, who are ever near to your very 
doors, you shall all 

*' ' Earn names that win 
Happy remembrance from the great and good — 
Names that shall sink not in oblivion's flood, 
But with clear music, like a church-bell's chime, 
Sound through the river's sweep of onward-rushing time.' " 



178 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 



CHAPTER XX. 

FIRMNESS AND BOLDNESS — TESTIMONY OF COLONEL 
FORNEY — MOTION FOR MR. LONG's EXPULSION — PRE- 
SENTATION OF SILVER SERVICE TO MR. COLFAX — 
SPEECH BY MR. M'CULLOCH — RESPONSE BY MR. COL- 
FAX— A friend's SONNET. 

Mr. Colfax is a man of benevolent disposition, of 
genial kindness and crjstal-like purity ; he is also a man 
of iron firmness. His adherence to principle is unwaver- 
ing, and his boldness in maintaining that, which in his 
conviction, is right, dauntless. Colonel Forney, writing 
of him in connection with the performance of his duties 
as Speaker in the Thirty-eighth Congress, said: "He 
has been the embodiment of the war policy of the Gov- 
ernment." 

In April, 1864, Mr. Long, of Ohio, made a speech in 
the House of Eepresentatives, virtually declaring the 
rebellion right and the war for the Union unjust and 
wrong ; that the names of our battle-fields were synon- 
ymous wdth disunion instead of union. The speech 
seemed in fact almost like the unfurling of the Confed- 
erate flag on the floor of the House. Without consulta- 
tion with his friends upon the subject, Mr. Colfax, under 
an imperative sense of duty to the country and to the 
soldiers that were in the field and before the enemy, 
calling upon another member of the House to preside, 
left the Speaker's chair, and upon the floor of the House 
made a motion for the expulsion of Mr. Long as an un- 
worthy member, and supported the motion with a speech. 
The following are its opening paragraphs : 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 179 

''Me. Speaker: 'Where are we?' was the emphatic 
question propounded by the eloquent gentleman from 
the first district of Ohio [Mr. Pendleton] on Tuesday 
last. I answer him : We are in the Capitol of our nation. 
We are in the hall where assembles the Congress of this 
Eepublic, which, thank God, in spite of conspiracy and 
treason, still lives ; in spite of enemies, open and covert, 
within and without our lines, with and without arms in 
their hands, still lives, and which, thanks to our gallant 
defenders in the field, will live as long as time shall 
last. 'Where are we?' said he. I will answer him in 
the language of his colleague^ [Mr. Long,] whose speech 
is under review : 

" ' From the day on which the conflict began up to the 
present hour, the Confederate army has not been forced 
beyond the sound of their guns from the dome of the 
Capitol in which we are assembled. The city of Wash- 
ington is to-day, as it has been for three years, guarded 
by Federal troops in all the forts and fortifications with 
which it is surrounded.' 

"And yet, sir, while we are thus placed; 'in this 
fearful hour of the country's peril,' as the gentleman 
from Ohio [Mr. Long] says in the opening paragraph of 
his speech ; while the scales of national life and death 
are trembling in the balance ; while our veterans are at 
the front seeking to save the life of the country, and 
willing to seal their fidelity, if need be, with their heart's 
blood; with the enemy almost at the very gates of your 
Capital ; at such a time as this the gentleman from the 
second district of Ohio rises in his seat and declares that 
our Government is dead ; nay, more, that it is destroyed ; 
and then, having thus consigned it to death and destruc- 
tion, he avows boldly that he prefers to recognize the 



i8o Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

nationality of the Confederacy of traitors, which has 
caused this alleged death of the Kepublic, to any other 
alternative that remains." 

The following extracts from Mr. Colfax's speech ex- 
hibit both his unyielding firmness in duty and his true 
kindness of heart : 

" The gentlemen on the other side, every one, indeed, 
who have referred to it at all, have been kind enough 
to speak of my impartiality as the presiding ofScer of 
the House. I thank them for this testimonial, which I 
have endeavored to deserve. But at the same time 
most of them have expressed ' regret' that I left the 
Speaker's chair and came down upon the floor of the 
House. I have, however, no regret. I did it in the 
performance of what seemed to me an imperative duty, 
from conscientious conviction, and from no personal un- 
kindness toward the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Long]. I 
have no personal unkindness toward him or any human 
being who lives upon the earth. 

" If my course is a disgrace, you can fix the brand on 
my forehead, and I will wear it through life, nor do I 
want any prouder epitaph on my tombstone than that I 
dared fearlessly to stand up here and do my duty accord- 
ing to my convictions. [Great applause.] 

" Mr. Speaker, I desire that the rules of the House 
forbidding applause should be obeyed. Gentlemen on 
the other side have been displeased with the galleries 
during the past few days. We have sat here, sir, when 
those galleries glowered with hate in their eyes upon 
those who spoke for freedom, and applauded to the echo 
those who spoke for slaver}^, and never were they cleared 
but once, to my knowledge. It is unseemly for the 



• ^ 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. i8i 

galleries to indulge in applause or censure for what 
occurs upon the floor; and I would rather have the 
' God bless you' of some poor soldier's widow who had 
seen in her desolate home that I stood up for the cause 
for which her husband fell, or the ' God bless you' of 
the soldier on his dangerous picket duty in front of our 
army, guarding the sleeping host with his own life, than 
the applause of these galleries, crowded as they are with 
talent, heroism, and beauty." 

One of the most interesting debates of this eventful 
Congress followed this speech of Mr. Colfax. During 
the course of the debate, his resolution of expulsion was, 
with his consent, modified to one of censure, in which 
form it was passed by a large majority. 

On Saturday evening, May 7th, 1864, a large number 
of the citizens of Indiana, resident in Washington, in- 
cluding many ladies, the wives and daughters of those 
citizens, met at the house of Mr. Colfax for the purpose 
of testifying their high appreciation of his public services 
and private virtues. Their testimonial was a set of silver 
of beautiful design and exquisite workmanship. On the 
salver was this inscription : 

" Presented to Schuyler Colfax, Speaker of the Thirty- 
eighth Congress of the United States, now and for many 
years a faithful representative of the Ninth Congressional 
District of Indiana, eminent in the councils of his coun- 
try, her able and patriotic defender, and the Soldier's 
Friend. From citizens of his own State, who recognize 
in him all that is generous and just, and unwavering 
devotion to principle and duty. May 7th, 1864 " 



1 82 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

The following presentation speech was made by the 
Hon. Hugh McCulloch; of the Treasury Department : 



SPEECH OF MK. McCULLOCH. 

" Mr. Colfax : I have the honor, and I feel it to be an 
honor, to present to you, in behalf of a few of your 
Indiana friends, a testimonial of their appreciation of 
your services to the nation, and their admiration of your 
public and private character. I remark that this offer- 
ing is from a few of your friends, because, had it been 
generally known in Indiana that it was our intention thus 
to express our regard for you, and each subscription had 
been limited to the smallest sum known to our currency, 
so numerous are your friends there, that this tribute of 
affection and esteem would have been far more costly 
and elegant than it is. 

"The inscription upon it indicates that this 'service 
of plate' is presented by citizens of our State to you as 
Speaker of the House of Eepresentatives of the United 
States, the Kepresentative of the Ninth Congressional 
District of the State of Indiana, and the Soldier's Friend. 
But, if I correctly interpret the sentiments of your other 
friends by my own sentiments, this tribute is not be- 
stowed merely nor chiefly because, contending against 
the disadvantages under which you labored in early 
life, you bravely fought your way from the printing- 
office of a small western village, in which you were a 
youthful pioneer, to places of high honor and trust ; not 
because you have for many years ably represented the 
same district in the Congress of the United States ; not 
because you are now filling the chair which has been 
occupied by many of the noblest and most talented men 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 183 

of the nation, and are so discbarging its difficult duties 
as to challenge the admiration of even your political 
opponents ; but because, in every step of your upward 
career, you have been true to your convictions of duty; 
because, (alas, that the rarity of such virtue should make 
the exhibition of it so great a compliment to you,) with all 
the opportunities you have had for making your distin- 
guished positions contribute to your enrichment, there 
is no stain upon your reputation ; because you have 
done no public act which your severest friends could 
wish undone, and because you stand before the country 
a type of the self-reliant, unassuming, patriotic American 
citizen. 

"It is not strange, sir, that the friends who have 
known you from boyhood, and been acquainted with 
the struggles of your early life; who have witnessed 
your ability as a debater before the people and in the 
national councils, the rapid strides you have made to 
the high position you are now filling with such distin- 
guished ability, and have marked especially your fidelity 
to principle, your personal integrity, and your earnest 
and active loyalty ; it is not strange, I say, that these 
friends should be proud of you, and seek an occasion 
like the present to manifest their appreciation of your 
merits. 

"But, sir, this testimonial is not presented to you, as to 
one who, having run a career of honor and usefulness, 
is about to retire from public life, to rest upon the laurels 
he has won. Never did our beloved country need the 
services of her able and loyal sons as she needs them 
to-day. Never were honest, self-sacrificing, patriotic 
men for the cabinet, the halls of legislation, and the 
field, so necessary as at the present time. When eleven 



184 L'lf^ of Schuyler Colfax. 

States of the Union have thrown oflF their allegiance to 
the Government and the Constitution, and are engaged 
in a rebellioD, at the magnitude and vindictiveness of 
which the civilized world stands aghast ; when in the 
jlojal States so many of our people seem to prefer the 
;succes3 of a party to that of the nation, or attempt to 
bribe a doubtful loyalty, if not sympathy with the rebels, 
under the cover of fidelity to the Constitution ; when, by 
so many claiming to be loyal, personal gain is pursued 
at the expense of the nation's credit, and the public 
interest is made subservient to private interests, the 
appeal of the country to her true sons to stand by her 
with firm hearts, and strong arms, and honest purposes, 
can be neither honorably nor safely ignored. 

" Unless I overrate the strength of the rebellion and 
the desperate energy of its leaders — unless I greatly 
misapprehend the nature and magnitude of the work to 
be done after the rebellion is crushed, in permanently 
establishing our institutions upon the basis of universal 
freedom and equal rights, and in restoring the needful 
checks upon the authority of the rulers over the rights 
of the people, which must necessarily be disturbed, if 
they do not happen to be wantonly disregarded, in such 
a war as is now being waged upon our own soil — unless 
I am too apprehensive in regard to the future — great 
trials are before us as individuals and as a nation — great 
trials during the continuance of the war, and perhaps 
still greater trials after the war has been successfally 
closed; trials that will test the endurance, the loyalty, 
the virtue of our people, as they have never yet been 
tested. But I have an abiding faith that the people of 
the free North will be equal to the work that is before 
them ; that success will not intoxicate nor reverses dis- 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 185 

hearten them ; that, whatever may be its cost, they will 
coDtinue the war until the rebellion is subdued and the 
integrity of the Union is assured ; and that, when this is 
accomplished, they will be able to correct whatever ten- 
dencies to centralization, and to interference with the 
rights of the people and the rights of the States the war 
may have brought about. 

"It will contiuue to cost, as it is now costing, blood 
and treasure to crush out ' this unnatural revolt, but it 
must be crushed, because the existence of the Govern- 
ment, if not the cause of civil liberty in the United 
States, depends upon its being crushed, and because it 
will be less costly to do it than would be the anarchy 
and perpetual war which would be the result of its 
success. 

" When the war is concluded, there will be required 
wisdom and statesmanship and patriotism, to place the 
credit of the nation upon a solid basis, to restore the 
proper checks upon Executive power, to subordinate 
the military to civil authority, and fix the condition of 
rebellious States; but wisdom, and statesmanship, and 
patriotism, were not wanting in the organization and 
establishment of the Government, and they will not be 
lacking in reforming and perpetuating it. 

" The Eepublic is not to be overthrown by the des- 
perate efiforts of a proud aristocracy to roll back the 
free, progressive spirit of the age, and to establish upon 
the ruins of a part of our giant nation a despotic con- 
federacy whose corner-stone and cement are boastingly 
proclaimed to be human slavery. Love of the Union 
in its entirety, and of constitutional liberty, is engraven 
upon the hearts of the people of the North, and, with the 



1 86 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

blessing of God, both shall be preserved to them and 
their descendants. 

" But, sir, whatever trials may be before us, we know 
where you will be found. During the war we shall 
hear your voice in the halls of legislation and before 
the people, rebuking treason, strengthening the faint- 
hearted, and inspiriting the loyal at home, and sending 
words of cheer to our gallant soldiers in the field ; and 
when peace is restored to us you will be, what you have 
been in the past, a tribune of the people, a champion 
of popular rights and of constitutional liberty. 

"It is because we hold you in this high estimation, 
and are confident that your conduct in the future, both 
in private and public life, will be, as heretofore, patriotic, 
honorable, honest, upright, that we tender to you this 
plate. It will doubtless be less valued by reason of its 
intrinsic worth than as an evidence of the feelings that 
have sought expression in the presentation of it. Ac- 
cept it, sir, with the cordial greetings of the donors, and 
their heartfelt wishes for your health and happiness." 

REPLY 0? MR. COLFAX. 

"My Dear Sir, and Ladies and Gentlemen, or, 
rather, let me drop this formal appellation, and 

CALL YOU BY THE MORE ENDEARING TITLE OF FrIENDS : 

I scarcely know how to thank you for the magnificent 
and costly testimonial you have presented me to-night ; 
for when the heart is full the tongue would fain be silent. 
Valuable as is this gift intrinsically, it will ever possess to 
me a more exceeding worth, because it came from friends 
of my own State, and is a spontaneous offering of their 
friendship and affection. It reminds me of beloved 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 187 

friends beyond the mountains as well as here ; of those 
who are with us to-night in heart, but not in person. 
And, as I look around the circle, I see in it familiar 
faces, many who have known me from the days of my 
childhood till now, who have been friends of my youth 
as of my middle age, and whose attachment has been 
unshaken as the hills, growing stronger and stronger as 
the years rolled by. 

" To know that you think me worthy of such a testi- 
monial is one of the most gratifying events of my life, 
measured though it is by your friendship instead of any 
merits of mine. It will be a new incentive so to live 
that neither you nor any of those you represent will 
ever have cause to regret this distinguished mark of your 
confidence and esteem. While I live I will cherish this 
gift as the most valued of my life ; and, when I shall 
pass away and join those who have gone before, though 
I cannot leave it to any who bear my name, I shall take 
care that it shall be preserved as an enduring testimonial 
of your friendship and generosity. 

" You must allow me to add that, though thus appre- 
ciating your abundant kindness, and feeling within this 
circle that electric thrill that betokens heart answering 
to heart, my thoughts to-day and to-night have been 
with our brave soldiers at the front, who there interpose 
their manly forms between their country and the ene- 
mies who are seeking its life and theirs. All through 
the long hours of this day, warmed with the premature 
heat of midsummer, till the shadows lengthened with 
the returning eve, and the twilight darkened into night, 
my heart has been with these gallant defenders of the 
Union in all their dangers and their sacrifices. To- 
night they may be clustered around their bivouacs — 



1 88 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

they may be in the sharp conflict, bearing aloft their 
nation's banner amid shot, and shell, and flame — they 
may be hurriedly following a retreating foe — or, alas ! 
they may be lying on the battle-field, their bodies 
mangled with rebel bullets, and their sightless eyes up- 
turned towards that dim unknown to which their souls 
have already gone. May Providence ' cover their heads ' 
in the day of battle, and give them victory over those 
hosts before them, led on by chieftains who have been 
foresworn ; victory for an imperilled but not destroyed 
Union ; victory over a gigantic conspiracy to blot the 
nation from the map of the world ; victory which shall 
turn back the tide of rebel success, and restore peace 
and unity to a distracted land. 

"Napoleon, under the shadow of the mysterious 
Pyramids, stirred the hearts of his soldiers by that 
striking sentence : ' Soldiers, forty centuries look down 
upon you to-day.' But, if the spirits of the great and 
good are permitted in that better land above to feel an 
interest in the regions where they won their immortal 
fame, Washington and his brave compatriots look down 
to-day upon the heroes of the Republic who are striving 
to save from destruction a land hallowed by their sac- 
rifices and re-sanctified by the precious blood spilt in its 
defence. 

" I feel; sir, an honorable pride in your remark that 
my most critical friends have seen no act of my life 
which they could wish had been unperformed. I have 
striven, sir, as you have with such generous partiality 
afl&rmed, to be faithful to principle and duty,, however 
thick-set might be the thorns in the pathway. But even 
more valuable and gratifying is that portion of the in- 
scription on the service of plate which speaks of me as 



' 



Life of Schuyler Coif ay:. 189 

the ' Soldier's Friend.' In private and in public life I 
have endeavored so to act, feeling constantly, however, 
that the debt of obligation to them was too heavy 
ever to be repaid in deeds. And with my whole soul 
I can say that I value that title more than office, or 
honors, and would rather be bound to their hearts 
and yours, ' with hooks of steel,' as Shakspeare writes, 
or rather with the unseen but no less potential heart- 
strings of affection, than to enjoy any distinction or 
earthly fame. 

" Accept, sir, and all of you, my grateful acknowledg- 
ments, and believe me, that to have a home in the hearts 
of friends who regard me as worthy of their love and 
esteem ; who feel that they rejoice over any success that 
may come to me in life ; but who also share with me in 
my sorrows, and lighten care by their sympathy and 
affection, is, of all thoughts, the most inspiriting, and 
more priceless even than silver or gold. And when, at 
last, about to enter on that sure estate, which all of us 
onward travellers to the grave are destined to inherit, if 
I may know, when passing away, that you will remem- 
ber me as one who did his duty faithfully and fearlessly, 
I shall feel that, perhaps, I have not lived entirely in 



At the conclusion of the speech of Mr, Colfax the 
company partook of a sumptuous banquet, and the fes- 
tivities were prolonged to a late hour by conversation 
and interchange of social greeting. Many Senators and 
Eepresentatives were present, and also Bishop Simpson, 
for many years a sincere and valued friend of Mr. Colfax. 
A sonnet, from a friend of Mr. Colfax, at South Bend, 
having more reputation as a writer of truth than poetry, 



190 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

read upon the occasion, formed (said the Washington 

Chronicle) a pleasant ending to its report of this very 
agreeable event: 

Colfax, thy past has won the Speaker's chair 

And honor's post, in these eventful days ; 

Thy virtues beam from thee, as silver rays ' 

From stars, that gem the night. Thy gifts are rare, 
And precious is their fruit. Thou art the clear 
Persuasive orator of right ; the pure, 
Unsullied patriot ; the changeless, sure, 
And genial friend ; to many hearts how dear; 

Full well thou knowst the vanity of earth — 
Thou dost not seek its wealth, nor high renown, 

Nor taste its sparkling cup of madd'ning mirth ; " ;! 

But in the sacred use of life, dost strive \ 

To serve thy country and thy race. Far down ^ 

The ages, shall thy name in memory live. ' 



CHAPTER XXI. 

EE-ELECTION OF MR. LINCOLN" PENDING — MR. COLFAX 
NOT PERMITTED TO WITHDRAW FROM NOMINATION FOR 
CONGRESS — OPENING SPEECH OF THE CANVASS AT 
PERU, INDIANA. 

During the summer and fall of 1864, the great 
political contest for the re-election of Mr. Lincoln and sus- 
taining the Government in its war with the rebellion was, 
waged. In this contest Mr. Colfax took an active and 
earnest part. It had been his desire to withdraw from 
Congressional life. He had frequently expressed such 
desire to his constituents, and on this occasion published 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 191 

a card, declining a renomination. Thej were, however, 
unwilling to consent. Mr. Colfax yielding to their 
unanimous nomination, became again their standard- 
bearer, not only for the Congressional but national 
conflict. His opening speech for the canvass was made 
at Peru, Indiana, August 20th. Reporters were on the 
ground from Cincinnati and Chicago to report it for the 
daily papers of those cities. It was the first speech of 
the great national canvass made by any one of national 
reputation. Its theme was, " The duty of standing by 
the Government." It was plain, forcible, direct ; free from 
all low and slang phrases, a characteristic feature of all 
of Mr. Colfax's speeches. Its arguments fell like grape 
and canister in the ranks of the opponents of the Gov- 
ernment. It shows the character of the opposition to 
the war, and brings into the light of history the secret 
dangers that imperilled the country. It is a fair speci- 
men of the oratory of Mr. Colfax upon the stump and 
of the efficient character of his innumerable campaign 
speeches. It is not in as fine and polished a style 
throughout as many other speeches of Mr. Colfax ; but 
as Mr. Lincoln said of the term "sugar coated," when 
requested to strike it out of one of his messages to Con- 
gress, as undignified, that the people would understand 
it, this speech was understood by the people and appre- 
ciated by them. It confirmed the convictions and kindled 
the enthusiasm of its many thousand hearers. It was 
very widely read and esteemed very effective. The fol- 
lowing report of it is from the Cincinnati Gazette: 

''STAND BY THE GOYERNMENT." 

"Mr. Colfax has just begun to canvass his district for 
re-election to Congress, against David Turpie, Peace 



192 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

Democrat, whom lie beat in 1862, when the Democracy- 
swept nearly every thing before it in his State. He 
preferred to retire from public service, but his constitu- 
ents insisting upon his nomination for this once more, in 
view of the critical condition of affairs in Indiana, he 
accepted the nomination as an obligation, and has 
resolved on performing his share of the duty necessary 
before the election, as he does every thing, thoroughly 
and well. 

" The following speech, telating as it- does to our 
national affairs, as well as to the local politics of Indi- 
ana, will be perused with interest by all our readers : 

/'Mr. Chairman and Fellow-citizens: lean sum 
up all I intend to say this afternoon in four expressive 
words. They are, 'Stand by the Government!' 
You have just passed a resolution tendering thanks 
to your heroic defenders in the field; and never in 
the hour of our country's trial were its defenders 
worthier of such expressions of gratitude from those for 
whom they suffer, for whom they fight, and for whom 
they fall. But if you believe these resolutions in your 
heart of hearts, as you do, you will send to them in 
October a more emphatic resolution — a resolution com- 
ing from the ballot-box. [Cheers.] You will tell them, 
that as they confront the enemy in front with bullets, 
you will confront the sympathizers and abettors of their 
rebel enemies with ballots in the rear. [Cheers.] 

" When I say to you ' stand by the Government,' I give 
to you all the counsel that any man could give to his 1 
fellow- men in an hour of peril like this. What are we 
without Government ? It is Government that protects 
your property, for without Government you would be 
on a shoreless sea of anarchy, and your nation a mass of 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 193 

ruins ; your title-deeds worthless as Confederate scrip ; 
your lives at the mercy of midnight assassins, with 
guerillas to drive you from your homes, and light up 
your pathway to places of refuge by the flames of your 
burning dwellings. Every thing that is sacred and dear 
to us is protected by the Grovernment. Yet rebel armies 
are in the field to-day. What for ? To overthrow and 
destroy the Government. Union armies are in the field. 
What for ? To protect and maintain the Government, 
and save the country from national destruction. And 
yet, up and down the highways and by-ways, you hear 
men talking about ^ peace,' ' crying peace, peace, when 
there is no peace.' And when you analyze their peace, 
what is it ? It is peace with the rebels, but war with 
your Government and its brave defenders. Know you 
not this to be true ? Read the platforms adopted by 
every convention calling itself Democratic that has 
recently assembled. What are they ? Condemnations 
of the treason that seeks to destroy our Government ? 
Denunciations of the war upon the Union, and appeals 
to their followers to stand as one man around our im- 
perilled flag? No, none of that. They denounce the 
way the war is managed for the preservation of our 
nation, but not one word against the way the war is 
managed for the destruction of the Union. Their mouths 
are filled with invective against your Government, that 
is endeavoring to save the nation from disruption and 
death. To this contest there can be but two parties. 
The one, call it by whatever name you please, are rebel- 
haters, and I am one of these. [Cheers.] And the other, 
sugar-coat it as you may, cover it with some respectable 
name of the past, are rebel-helpers, whose arguments 
and course strengthen the rebellion, and weaken the 



194 J^^f^ of Schuyler Colfax, 

power of the Government to put down the rebels. Into 
these two great associations the people of the loyal 
States are necessarily divided. Choose ye this day on 
which side you will enroll yourselves. 

"the fiery trial of war. 

''We have, unhappily, a civil war in this country. 
We had hoped to escape such a conflict of blood. All 
other nations of which we read in the past or present 
have had to pass through this deep red sea of war, to 
prove their strength and maintain their positions in the 
family of nations. This has been the case with England, 
France, Spain, Eussia, and every other nation in the 
world. They have had to prove they were strong enough 
to put down foes at home as well as foes abroad. You 
had hoped you were to be spared this sad aflQiction; 
for we of this nation had a Government felt only in its 
blessings, like the atmosphere surrounding you, strength- 
ening, and invigorating, and giving life. These blessings 
were poured out like the brimming waters of the rivers 
pouring their fulness into the seas. 

'^Now how changed the scene — and why? What 
right of any one has been stricken down ? None, by 
the testimony of their own rebel Vice-President Stephens, 
given in the Georgia Convention. Their rights had 
been guarded, instead of destroyed. They had had the 
Government of our country mainly in their own hands, 
but they had determined to overthrow it when they 
could no longer rule it. That was their intention at first, 
and when at last it burst like a thunder-cloud upon the 
land, your President, sworn by his oath to maintain the 
laws, the Constitution, and the integrity of the Union, 
drew the sword and called upon you, not for a war of 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 195 

offence and aggression, not for a war of hate and malig- 
nity, but to rally around your country in a war of self- 
preservation. And for having thus appealed to you to 
maintain your banner against every odds, steadily 
preserving the sanctity of his oath, and keeping before 
him as his duty, the maintenance of the nation — for 
having, like Varro, never despaired of the Republic — he 
is covered with invective and vituperation by those 
among us whose sympathies are with the country's ene- 
mies instead of its friends. 

" Who is your President ? He is a man selected to 
stand for, and speak, and act, in behalf of the imperilled 
nation. He is the arm of your country, by which it 
strikes enemies abroad as well as at home. And is not 
the man who seeks to weaken his power, to sow discord 
and opposition to him, imperilling his power and strength- 
ening the foe ? I ask if that man is not responsible for 
the bloodshed and devastation of this war? On the 
contrary, is not the path plain for every patriot ? Is it 
not to stand by the President, for the Government's 
protection ? You can no more fight the battles for the 
preservation of the country *vithout standing by the 
President than you can fight the battles in the field 
successfully without standing by the General command- 
ing the army. And so far as you strengthen the arm of 
the President, so far as you give it power, energy, and 
force, by rallying around him and sustaining his hands, 
as Aaron upheld the hands of Moses in the wilderness, 
so far you give strength to the power of your country 
in this trying crisis. 

"who and what are democrats? 
"I wish to read, in your hearing to-day, a resolution 



196 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

of the convention which nominated my competitor for 
Congress. But, before doing it, let me say that I do not 
charge upon all Democrats that they are false to their 
country. Many thousands of them have thrown off the 
shackles of party, and stand, not only in civil but in mili- 
tary life, for the maintenance of ' the banner of beauty 
and glory.' There stands Butler, a Democrat of the 
olden time. But when he is willing to give his life for 
the Kepublic — no sooner does he leave his party than he 
is denounced by those whom he has left ; and they quote 
every malignant denunciat-ion of the rebels against him, 
and ' Butler the beast' is the favorite epithet they apply 
to him. So, too, General Dix, and many other dis- 
tinguished Democrats, besides those in this State, your 
Hovey and others, who have shown their devotion to 
their country, are not regarded in good political stand- 
ing. So, too, with Stanton, Governor Wright, and 
Dumont and Holt, and Cathcart of your own district. 
But no sooner do they step out and rally under the stars 
and stripes than they are denounced as Abolitionists, for 
the purpose of weakening and destroying their influence 
among those with whom they formerly associated. But 
while this has been the case, I. will lay down three 
propositions here, and no man, whether editor of your 
Democratic paper, or your public speakers, will chal- 
lenge the truth of either of them : 

" 1. Every man who is a leader in the rebellion in the 
South, as President, Yice-President, member of the 
Cabinet, Speaker of the House of Representatives, the 
heads of their armies, every one of them ia a Democrat 
of the olden time. [Great cheers.] 

" 2. Every man they relied upon in the North, when 
they drew the sword of treason against their country, 



'Life of Schuyler Colfax, 197 

and raised their banner, red with blood, is a Democratic 
leader to-daj. 

" 3. The administration that was in power when the 
rebellion broke out, which could, by prompt and vigor- 
ous means, have crushed it out in its infancy, as Jackson 
crushed out nullification and treason in South Carolina 
thirty years ago — that administration which looked on 
with closed eyes and ears, allowing the rebellion to go 
on, and doing not one thing to save the Union from de- 
struction, was in all its parts Democratic. [Cheers.] 

" And further : every man that stood up in Congress 
in that dark winter, when State after State was seceding, 
and said, ' No coercion — you cannot coerce a sovereign 
State — they may talk treason here in the Capitol as 
much as they please, and draw the sword of rebellion 
in the face of the Government without hindrance' — every 
one was a Democrat. And yet they talk about this 
being a Lincoln war ! 

"REPLY TO THE VALPARAISO RESOLUTIONS. 

" I wish now to read the twelfth resolution of the con- 
vention which, in July last, nominated my competitor. 
And I will say here that my speech to-day will be un- 
like his ; it will not be filled with abuse and denunciation 
of him, as I am not in the habit of denouncing a com- 
petitor behind his back. As to discussing the questions 
before the country in a debate with him, I have told him 
that, whenever he desired a joint canvass, I will accept 
it. I never challenge a competitor, but always accept 
all challenges given me. At any rate, I shall not imitate 
a bad example by denouncing him. 

" This convention of his, after passing a variety of 

resolutions against the Government and denouncing the 
12 



198 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

war, passed the following, in reference to an individual 
of whom you have some knowledge : 

" ' 12. That Schuyler Colfax, for his attempt to abridge 
the right of free discussion in the halls of Congress, his 
base subserviency to the reigning despotism at A¥ash- 
ington in its attempts to destroy the rights and liberties 
of the people, manifested by his justification of the sup- 
pression of the writ of habeas corinis^ the arbitrary arrests 
of unoffending citizens, the emancipation proclamation, 
the placing of negroes on an equality with white men, 
by arming and incorporating them into the army, the 
confiscation of property without notice of legal process, 
and the interference of the Federal Government with the 
internal affairs of the several States, merits the reproba- 
tion of an indignant and outraged people ; and having 
shown himself unworthy the confidence of a free people 
by his betrayal of their dearest rights, we hereby 
solemnly pledge ourselves to the most energetic and 
unceasing efforts to secure his defeat at the ensuing 
election.' 

"freedom of speech in congress. 

" The first issue, * his attempt to abridge the right of 
free discussion in the halls of Congress,' I accept, and 
say, before discussing the point, that I stand here not as 
the result of my own choice. Having been honored by 
your votes with a seat in the halls of the national Con- 
gress for many successive terms, I would have been 
only too willing to retire and let you sel-ect some one 
else among you to fill that position. But when you in- 
sisted I must once more accept, and having asked others 
to accept more perilous positions, I could not refuse. I 
come not here, however, to ask your votes for any mere 
personal considerations ; for what are men, and private 
interests, in times like these ? I come here to appeal to 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 199 

you to stand by your country and your soldiers in the 
field. If my political grave was yawning before me, I 
would Lave accepted the duty assigned me, with the 
same determination as now to do my duty, and to say to 
you that the first, second, and last duty of every man at 
this time is, to stand by your Government. 

" This resolution charges me with attempting to abridge 
the right of free discussion. That is, because I dared, 
when the Confederate flag was virtually unfurled in the 
halls of Congress, and heard a Representative from Ohio 
declare that your Constitution was dead, your Republic 
destroyed, that the men who took the amnesty oath were 
justified in disregarding it — when I heard these things, 
I made up my mind that he should receive, if possible, 
the condemnation of the American Congress. [Grreat 
applause.] I have no regrets to offer for that act. I 
reflected on the matter before offering the resolution; 
and, though Speaker of the House, I saw no reason why 
that should prevent me doing a duty that lay before me. 
If I had supposed any man would have insisted that 
because Speaker I had no right to stand by my country, 
on the floors of Congress as well as elsewhere, I would 
not have accepted the position. I was sent there to 
speak and vote for the people of this District, and have 
learned never to shirk a duty that it seemed imperative 
for me to perform. 

"Let me read to you something of this free speech 
which is so sanctified and endorsed by the convention 
at Valparaiso. Said Mr. Long : ' Tliere is not one single 
vestige of the Constitution remaining.^ That is of our 
own Constitution. And if there is not, what is there 
left in this land that holds us together as a Grovernment ? 
Why none but the Montgomery constitution, the traitors' 



200 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

constitution. It is the only one remaining upon the 
American soil. But this was not all. He goes on to 
say that his ^convictions of the com'plete overthrow of the 
Government are as unwelcome and unpleasant to me as 
to any one in the House ' — declaring that your Govern- 
ment was completely overthrown. * I shall not refer,' 
said he, ' to the controversy as to who is responsible for 
the destruction of our GrovernmentJ And this was pro- 
claimed by a man who had recently taken an oath that 
he would stand by the Constitution and the Union, and 
not give aid or comfort to the enemies against it. 

''He said, furthermore, 'so it will be with the man 
who is forced to take the amnesty oath to save himself 
and family. He may take it^ hut in his heart he will de- 
spise the authority that requires itJ Could there be more 
said to encourage the rebels to go on in their work of 
destruction ? Further he says : 

"'What our people desired in 1861, and which I 
honored, though regarded as mistaken, ivas the preserva- 
tion of the Government, and the retention of our jurisdic- 
tion of the whole territory.' 

" And yet, in 1863, though he thus declares he was 
not for the preservation of the Government, he took an 
oath as a member to stand by the Constitution. I said 
he was an unworthy member of that Congress, and the 
majority of the House of Eepresentatives agreed with 
me and voted for the resolution. I stand by that reso- 
lution to-day. They say it was an attempt to abridge 
the right of free discussion. How suddenly they become 
converts to the right of free discussion! There was, 
some years ago, a member from that same State of Ohio, 
Mr. Giddings, who offered a resolution in regard to the 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 201 

Creole case, and the right to hold slaves on the high 
seas under our State laws. And this same party that is 
now so careful of the right of free discussion in favor 
of traitors, and who affirm on the floors of Congress that 
your Government is dead, these men by a party vote of 
censure, drove that member from his seat. They were 
not so much in love with free discussion then. A few 
years ago a Massachusetts Senator was struck down in 
the Capitol by one of this party, two Kepresentatives of 
the lower house performing and abetting the act, the 
intention being to murder him, but they failed in the 
attempt. And when a resolution was introduced to cen- 
sure and expel these men for the brutal act, not simply 
a resolution expressing the views of Congress as to a 
certain speech, but for the infamous outrage upon a fel- 
low-member, every one of that party voted against ex- 
pulsion. But when it has come that free speech, in their 
view, means the advocacy of treason, then they go to 
Valparaiso and pass a resolution throwing the shield of 
their protection over such men. 

" There was another man in the House of Eepresent- 
atives — Harris, of Maryland — wno said in that debate, 
' All the South ask of you is to let them live in peace ; 
but no, you say you will bring them into subjugation. 
But it is not done yet, and God grant it never may he 
done.^ And when he thus appealed to God to render 
victorious the armies of the South in this conspiracy, he 
was allowed to retain his seat there, and draw money 
out of your treasury, paid in by your taxes, by the votes 
of those Democratic members who said we cannot inter- 
fere with free speech. It was then that I thought the 
time had arrived when Congress should express its ab- 



ao2 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

horrence of sucli treasonable language, and T am willing 
to accept the issue made against me in reference to it. 

"DESPOTISM AT WASHINGTON-. 

"The next count in the indictment is 'base subser-'' 
viency to the reigning despotism at Washington.' They 
call your administration, which is straggling to save the 
life of the nation, a 'reigning despotism!' Where did 
they find such language ? It is the language used by 
that chief of traitors, Jefi'. Davis. How could they aid 
the rebel cause more effectually than by such language? 
If they could make your soldiers believe it, they would 
lay down their arms and let their country be destroyed. 
It is because your soldiers know how false all this is, 
that they stand there still, not despairing, but with their 
hearts full of hope that final triumph over all their 
country's foes await them. When the rebels read this 
it will give them fresh hope, and they will be nerved 
thereby to bitterer hostility. When it goes abroad, and 
is read beyond the ocean, will it not help to strengthen 
their cause there up to that point of recognition, of which 
there has been so much danger ? 

"'His base subserviency!' What have I done to 
deserve this charge ? My crime is, that I have stood by 
your President, the administration, and the armies of 
the country, in every attempt to put down the rebellion, 
and, God helping me, there I shall stand to the end. 

"suspension of the habeas corpus. 

" ' In its attempts to destroy the rights and liberties of ^ 
the people, manifested by his justification of the sup- 
pression of the habeas corpus.^ 

" I do justify the suppression of that writ, and we have 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 203 

illustrious examples of its suppression in the past history 
of the Government. We have the indorsement of it by 
the Democratic party, when that name meant something 
different from what it does to-day. What says your Con- 
stitution ? It is so plain that no school-boy can fail to 
understand it. ' The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus 
shall not be suspended, except when in time of insurrec- 
tion or invasion the public safety shall require it.' And 
the President who would not suspend this writ, when the 
safety of the nation demands it, is a traitor in his heart. 
It is the President's imperative duty to do every thing 
that is necessary for the preservation of his imperilled 
land. You shoot a deserter who leaves your army, and 
is your Government to be powerless against the man 
who by his speeches and letters encourages that poor 
boy to desert ? They say you must have the case come 
before the judges of the courts. How would it have 
been in Maryland, when Marshal Kane and his con- 
federates blocked up your way to the Federal capital, 
and telegraphed for more rebels to come down from the 
mountains of Maryland and murder your soldiers? 
Suppose they had taken him before some disloyal 
judges; they, holding like views with him in regard to 
the Federal authorities, would have released him, and 
he would only have renewed his outrages. But the 
President arbitrarily arrested him, as he ought to have 
done. The only complaint I have to make against the 
President is, that he has been too lenient instead of too 
severe. Look back to the time of Jefferson, the father 
of the old Democratic party. In the Burr conspiracy, 
he, by military power, when the country was at peace, 
with no armies upon its soil threatening the existence 
of our Government, arrested the supposed conspirators. 



204 -^^^ ^f Schuyler Colfax, 

brought them to Washington, and held them there 
under the eyes of the United States courts, and the 
Democratic party said Amen, and gave the proceedings 
their support. So in 1812, when Jackson, not as Presi- 
dent, but as commander of a military department, sus- 
pended the writ of habeas corpus. He arrested a judge 
and the lawyer who counselled the issuing of the writ, 
and held them within his military lines; and when 
peace was declared, he kicked them outside his camp. 
What said the Democratic party about that? More 
than all things else he had ever done, it helped to make 
him President of the United States, and properly 
enough too. And if Jackson had been President in 
1860-61, he would have arrested these traitors in the 
halls of Congress, and would have attacked Charleston 
whenvthe first secession convention was in session there. 
[Cheers.] The whole Democratic party in Congress 
worked for years, until they refunded to Jackson the 
fine imposed upon him by the court for the arrest of 
that judge. 

"More than this, George B. McClellan, when com- 
manding your armies in the East, himself arrested, not 
mere citizens, but the Legislature of the 'sovereign 
State of Maryland,' who were about to pass an ordi- 
nance of secession. You know that with their peculiar 
notions, learned from Calhoun, about following a State, 
if that State had passed an ordinance of secession it 
would have been doubly difficult to have saved Maryland 
and your Capital besides. But McClellan arrested the 
disloyal majority of that Legislature, and locked them 
up in Port McHenry till their term expired. Yet, in 
the eyes of these gentlemen, McClellan is a patriot, 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 205 

while Lincoln, who has not done an act half as severe 
as this, is denounced as a ' reigning despot.' 

''ARREST OF UNOFFENDING CITIZENS. 

"The resolution further charges the administration 
with sustaining the 'arbitrary arrest of unoffending 
citizens/ and denounces me for indorsing it. What, 
* unoffending^ citizens ? Men who are secretly plotting 
treason against your Government, giving aid and com- 
fort to the enemy. President Lincoln did not hang 
them, but locked them up where they would be power- 
less for evil. How is it they have so much sympathy 
for these sympathizers and traitors, unless they are 
jointly interested with them in their work ? 

"THE EMANCIPATION POLICY. 

" The next thing in the charges is my justification of 
the Emancipation Proclamation. I did, and do still, 
indorse it. Slavery had proved itself the strong arm of 
this rebellion. It was slavery that gave rise to this con- 
spiracy at first; it was slavery that gave strength to their 
armies in the outset, and it is slavery that has sustained 
its armies in the field during all the war, by their labor 
on the plantations at home, as well as in camp, in 
their ditches and on their fortifications. It was slavery 
that created the fortifications from behind which the 
death- dealing guns of rebels carried the messengers of 
death to your brothers and sons, and mourning to many 
of your households. It is slavery that has loaded you 
with taxes and filled your graveyards; and it consti- 
tutes the sinews and strength of the rebellion still, soi 
far as it has not been destroyed. 

" Mr. Lincoln tried for eighteen months to sav e the 



do6 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

Union and slavery with it. His Generals returned fugi- 
tive slaves; they repulsed from their armies fleeing 
negroes that came to them with valuable information ; 
they guarded rebel property from molestation as 
sacredly as they would have protected their own. The 
President pursued a kind and tender policy to the 
last moment it was practicable, hoping the disunion- 
ists might be turned aside from their determination. 
And when at last he became convinced that the Union 
and slavery could not be saved together, he gave them 
one hundred days' warning, and said, ' If you will not 
lay down your arms, and return to your allegiance to 
the Constitution and laws of your Government, and 
cease murdering Union soldiers, I will, when the one 
hundred days expire, strike with the battle-axe of the 
war-power your slave system.' The one hundred days 
expired without acceptance of the terms, and he then 
allowed negro soldiers to be incorporated into the 
army, and issued the Proclamation. And yet, these 
Northern abettors of secession denounce it. They 
seem to have more care for the salvation of slavery 
than for the preservation of the Union. 

"negro equality and confiscation. 

"They go on, in their resolution, and say: *The 
placing of negroes on an equality with white men, by 
arming and incorporating them into the army.' I plead 
guilty to that, too. I am in favor of employing every 
means within our reach to put down this rebellion — but 
of this I will speak presently. 

*' ' The confiscation of property without notice of 
legal process.' Again we see their tender solicitude 
about these rebels ; for, if anybody's property has been 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 207 

confiscated, it has been that of the rebels, with their 
hands dyed in the blood of loyal citizens and patriots, 
seeking to violate their oaths in the past, that they may 
find with surer certainty the nation's heart with the 
dagger's point. They object that their property has 
been confiscated without notice of legal process. Sup- 
pose we had tried that process, and sent down your 
United States Marshal to notify Gov. Letcher that we 
were going to confiscate his property, how would he 
come back ? A head shorter, if he came back at all. 
Remember that no confiscation hill was passed hy the 
Federal Congress until a year after the rebels 'passed an 
act confiscating every dollar of Union property in the 
South, Wherever Union men could be found, their 
farms, city property, stocks, personal effects, all were 
swept into the coffers of Jeff Davis. After persisting 
in this work for a year, and driving Union men 
by hundreds from their homes, then, only following 
their example, Congress passed this confiscation act 
which so much excites the indignation of these men 
of Valparaiso. 

" After having indorsed all this, they say that Schuy- 
lar Colfax ^ merits the reprobation of an indignant and 
outraged people.' I have thought, as I looked into your 
faces here to-day, that there were a good many of you 
who did not feel very indignant at my course against 
traitors. [Cheers.] I have no more fears of going 
before the people this fall, upon the issues made by 
that convention, than when at other times you have 
elected me your Representative. [A voice, ' We'll elect 
you again, too.'] I hope you will, but I hope far more 
than that, that our country will be preserved and the 
Government sustained. 



2o8 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

" * We hereby pledge ourselves to tbe most energetio 
and unceasing efforts to secure his defeat.' They need 
not have put that in ; you knew it before they resolved 
it; they have always heretofore done so, and nobody 
doubts that they will redouble their efforts this fall. 

''CHUECHES AND SCHOOLS THE CAUSES OF THE WAR. 

"I now come to another resolution of the Valparaiso 
Democratic platform : 

" * 2. That the present civil war is the legitimate re- 
sult of the teachings and blasting influences of Aboli- 
tionism, which has been sown broadcast through church 
and school for the past quarter of a century, until the 
doctrine of an irrepressible conflict has become the faith 
and corner-stone of a great sectional party.' 

^'This resolution is plainly, palpably, undisguisedly 
a deliberate attempt to relieve the would-be murderers 
of their country's liberty from the guilt of having 
themselves brought on this civil war. It is saying to 
the rebels : You have been right in taking up arms ; the 
crime is in these churches and schools, which have 
brought the war upon the country. 

" But here is another resolution that was passed in 
Congress, in July, 1861, with but two dissenting votes, 
the Crittenden Eesolution. This famous resolution, 
fully answers this Valparaiso resolution, for it says : 
' This deplorable war has been forced upon the country 
by the disunionists of the Southern States, now in 
revolt against the Constitutional Government, and in 
arms around the Capital.' If this be true, and you know 
it is, then the other is false. The one says this war was 
brought on by the Southern disunionists; the other says 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, log 

it was brou'glit on by the teachings of Abolitionists in 
church and school. Choose ye between them, for by 
your votes you are to affirm the one or the other. 

" Again : Here is the testimony of a man who was 
the Ajax Telamon of his party in the day in which he 
lived, who declares, in the last speech he ever made, at 
Chicago, in June, 1861 

"* The slave question is a mere excuse. The election of 
Lincoln a mere pretext. The present secession move- 
ment is the result of an enormous conspiracy, formed 
more than a year since — formed by leaders in the 
Southern Confederacy more than twelve months ago. 
But this is no time for detail of causes. The conspiracy 
is now known; armies have been raised, war is levied to 
accomplish it. There are only two sides to the question. 
Every man must be for the United States or against it. 
Inhere can be no neutrals in this war — only patriots or 
traitors.^ 

"Now, Douglas meant what he said there; and I 
believe that the men who rise up after his death and say 
that this war was not commenced by the disunionists of 
the South, but was the work of the Abolitionists of the 
North, deliberately attempt to deceive the people, and 
prove themselves worthy of the condemnation his lan- 
guage pronounces against them. 

"A TRUE SKETCH OF THE WAE. 

"Need I go briefly over the facts of the history of 
this war? These men charge that this war was brought 
upon us by Northern Abolitionists. Why, when they 
were down at their Charleston Convention, in 1860, 
what did we see ? They were there in a family party 
with the rebel leaders, and what did those traitors say 
to their fellow-Democrats of the North ? They said, we 



2IO Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

demand two things; give us them, and you can have 
peace; if not, we will divide the party first; and the 
country afterwards. The first thing was to throw 
Douglas overboard ; and the second was, give us a 
slavery protection platform. The Northern men refused 
to yield to their demands. Why didn't they throw 
Douglas overboard, and give them some guarantee for 
the protection of slavery? If they were so fond of 
compromise and concession, why didn't they give these 
Southern men all they asked? They had it in their 
power to keep their party united, but they voluntarily 
broke it up. The result was, that the day after Lincoln's 
election over their thus divided party, these Democratic 
leaders raised their rebellious flag in Charleston and 
lit the torch of civil war in the land ; and in doing that, 
they lit, too, the funeral-pyre of slavery. 

" There was the President, charged with the duty of 
saving your nation. What did he, James Buchanan, do 
for his country ? He sat there, looking on with closed 
eyes, refusing to lift a finger to put down the rebellion ; 
and it went on gathering strength. State after State 
went out of the Union by their secession ordinances. 
Senators and Eepresentatives left Congress with words 
of treason on their lips, going South. They held their 
Confederate election while Buchanan was still President ; 
and on the 18th of February, two weeks before Lincoln's 
inauguration, they installed Jeff. Davis in his seat, and 
the rebel Congress assembled. Then they called for 
thirty thousand men to form their army, when you had 
six thousand, all told. All over the South they took 
your forts, custom-houses, mints and money, and tore 
down your flag. All this was done in Buchanan's 
administration. 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 2 1 1 

" Nor is tliis all. You have read tlie history of civil 
war in other countries, but you never before heard of 
one so atrocious as this, in this particular, that when 
these men were striking at the existence of their own 
nation, your chief officers of State, installed in the 
highest places of trust and profit in the cabinet of your 
country, gave them direct aid in their work of destruc- 
tion. Look at that rebel cabinet, as week after week 
it assembled, with Buchanan in their midst. There was 
Howell Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury, who went to 
New York professedly to borrow money, and told the 
leading financiers that the country was tumbling into 
ruins, that he believed the unity of your country was 
then at an end ; the consequence of which was, that at 
the end of Buchanan's administration, when they sought 
to borrow five million dollars, there was offered but two 
million, and for that twelve per cent, interest was de- 
manded. 

" Next was Floyd, Secretary of War, who, all through 
1860, was preparing for this work of rebellion, by ship- 
ping the arms, paid for by you, down South, and filling 
the arsenals in the South with munitions of war. The 
very guns that murdered your soldiers in the opening 
of the war, were guns paid for by your taxes, and 
bought for your defence. More than this, he scattered 
your armies so that Mr. Lincoln, when he came into 
office, would be powerless for the defence of the Govern- 
ment. One-fourth of the army was in Texas, where the 
traitor Twiggs surrendered them ; but, to the honor of 
your private soldiers be it said, that though they were 
tempted with every inducement to forsake their loyalty 
to the Government, and threatened with starvation if 
they did not, they steadfastly refused. Though im- 



2 T 2 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

prisoned for fifteen months, there was not a private 
soldier who would turn his back upon his country. 
[Great applause and cheers.] Kegiments were sent to 
California and elsewhere; so that Mr. Lincoln could not 
find two regiments, when necessary, for the protection of 
the Capital. 

"There was also the Secretary of the Navy, Isaac 
Toucey. He scattered your navy to the China seas 
and to the East Indies, where they would be out of the 
reach of the new administration ; and the day he went 
out of of&ce, Lincoln could not find a single frigate, 
except the Brooklyn, and it was found that she drew 
too much water to enter Charleston harbor. If there is 
a man who doubts this, let him read from Buchanan's 
message of January, 1861 : 

" ' Even now the danger is upon us. In several of the 
States which have not seceded, the forts, arsenals, and 
magazines of the United States have been seized. This 
is by far the most serious step which has been taken 
since the commencement of the troubles. This public 
property has long been left without garrisons and troops 
for its protection, because no person doubted its security 
under the flag of the country in any State of the Union. 
Besides, our small army has scarcely been sufficient to 
guard our remote frontiers against Indian incursions. 
The seizure of this property, from all appearances, has 
been 'purely aggressive, and not in resistance to any 
attempt to coerce a State or States to remain in the 
Union.' 

" Mr. Buchanan acknowledges it was aggressive, and 
not defensive; and yet he saw preparations for this un- 
holy war go on without lifting his hand against it. 
When Lincoln came into office, he stood on the steps of 
the Capitol, almost amid the crumbling pillars of the 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 213 

American temple, your Government bound hand and 
foot, ready to be delivered over to traitors. Nothing 
but the providence of Almighty Grod saved your country 
from complete destruction in those first hours of Mr. 
Lincoln's administration. Still he spoke for peace. On 
the 18th of February, Jefif. Davis said, ' The day for 
compromise has passed, and those who now resist us 
shall smell Southern gunpowder and feel Southern steel.' 
Two weeks afterward, in his inaugural, Mr. Lincoln said, 
/There shall be no bloodshed unless you yourselves 
precipitate the country into it.' His counsels were for 
peace. He longed to put aside that bloody cup of war 
and save you from its dregs. But at last, on that fatal 
Sunday in April, when that little company of men in 
that fort in the harbor of Charleston, with the flag they 
loved raised above them, and their commander on bended 
knee, imploring the blessing of God to enable them to 
protect it, eleven fratricidal batteries opened upon them, 
when, as the rebel leaders had been told, they could in 
two days have taken possession by the starvation of its 
garrison, without firing a shot. But a leading Yirginian 
had been down there, and told them they must have 
blood, in order to drive Yirginia out of the Union. 
And those guns were your guns, forged under the flow- 
ing folds of the stars and stripes ; and the men who 
trained them were men you educated at West Point, at 
the national expense, who proved false to their oaths as 
well as to their country ; and they aimed their guns, not 
at the fort alone, but at the nation's heart. 

''Nor was this all. After the work had been com- 
menced, the rebel Secretary of War shouted with ex- 
ultation in the streets of their rebel capital: 'The 

war has aow been commenced. In a month we shall 
13 



214 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

march on to Washington, and in the month of May dic- 
tate terms of peace in Independence Hall, in Philadel- 
phia/ "When that threat was made, that the Capital of 
your country was to be captured, and that terms of peace 
were to be executed in Independence Hall the month 
afterward, then Lincoln reluctantly put aside the olive 
branch, and appealed to the sword for your country's 
protection and defence. What else could he have done, 
and been faithful to his oath ? If he had stood still, as 
Buchanan did before him, the whole nation would have 
been destroyed; the rebel armies would have overrun 
your soil, and you become the serfs and vassals of Jeff'. 
Davis. It is owing to Mr. Lincoln's taking upon him- 
self the responsibility, that we can say to-day our country 
has a Capital and its Executive a home. 

" This is not all. I want to show you that every iota 
of blame for all the carnage of the last three years of 
war has been on the heads of the traitors of the South 
and their vindicators in the Valparaiso Convention and 
elsewhere in the North. When they assembled in Con- 
gress after the election of Mr. Lincoln, they professed to 
be alarmed about their rights. They said they knew 
our policy was to maintain the territories for freedom, 
but we assured them that the Chicago platform meant 
only resistance to further aggressions of slavery. Then 
they said you have personal liberty bills which are 
dangerous to our rights as citizens. Then Congress 
passed a resolution appealing to every State having such 
acts on their statute books to revise their legislation on 
this subject, in order, if possible, to avoid civil war. It 
was an overture for which every supporter of Mr. Lin- 
coln, Lovejoy and myself included, voted. Then they 
said, 'We don't like your doctrine prohibiting us 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 2 1 5 

from taking our slaves into the territories.' It was a 
principle dear to our hearts, for we wanted to preserve 
those territories as a heritage for freedom for your chil- 
dren and your children's children. But we responded, 
saying, ' For the sake of peace we are even willing to 
yield that point,' and we passed bills organizing all the 
territories left in the country, without a single word pro- 
hibiting slavery in any of them, and said to them, ' Will 
you not now be content ?' 

" The next thing was, ' We fear your growing power 
in the North.' Then was passed, by a two-third vote in 
both houses of Congress, a Constitutional amendment, 
which, when ratified by a requisite number of the States, 
would have provided that slavery shall never be inter- 
fered with by Congress in the States in which it exists. 
Was not this going to the last verge of concession ? 
But when we had done all this, they turned around and 
said, * If we would give them a blank sheet of paper on 
which to write their own terms, they would not stay 
with us with Lincoln as President of the United States.' 
And they went on with their unholy work. 

'* Yet we are told in this resolution that the civil war 
upon us is ' the result of the teachings and blasting in- 
fluences of Abolitionism, which has been sown broad- 
cast through church and school for the last quarter of a 
century.' Three or four years ago I read in the Eich- 
mond Examiner the following, never dreaming that I 
would find the same idea advanced in print in this ninth 
Congressional district of Indiana. 

" ' We have got to hating every thing with the prefix 
free, from free negroes down and up through the whole 
catalogue. Free farms, free labor, free society, free will, 
free thinking, free children, and free schools — all belong 



21 6 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

to the same brood of damnable isms. But the worst of 
all these abominations is the modern system of free 
SCHOOLS. The New England system of free schools has 
been the cause and prolific source of the infidelities and 
treasons that have turned her schools into Sodoms and 
Gomorrahs, and her churches into the common nestling- 
places of howling bedlamites. We abominate the system 
because the schools are free.'' 

" Who can question the affinity between the writer of 
the above and the men who passed the Valparaiso reso- 
lution, denouncing both church and school as the cause 
of this war ? Sensible and reflecting men know that 
they have been the nurseries of liberty, morality and 
good order. You who do not belong to any church are 
yet willing to concede that the organization of churches 
in our midst tends to promote good order, peace, and 
harmony. And you know, too, whether you have children 
to send to school or not, that the schools of a community 
enable those who come after you to become useful and , 
worthy members of society ; that they are the palladiums 
of our liberties, and we are prouder of them than almost 
any thing else we have to leave our descendants. But 
these men who have nominated my competitor denounce 
them as the cause of the civil war, thus echoing the 
tirade of the organ of the rebellion against every thing 
that is free. [Cheers.] I need not add more. The bare 
presentation of this coincidence must excite your con- 
demnation. Still, you have to approve it by your votes 
in October, or trample it under foot in your indignation. 

"EQUALITY OF BLACK AND WHITE MEN. 

" I now come to the following resolution : 

" * 6. That we oppose the abolition policy of freeing 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 217 

and arming the slave against his master, as only tending 
to widen the breach between the States, and that we de- 
nounce every policy that will directly or indirectly or in 
its tendency place the black on a military, political and 
civil equality with the white.' 

"JSTegro equality is the constant theme of those who 
can only revile the Government, and my opponents have 
ingeniously introduced it into this resolution. I frankly 
say to you to-day, that the black man who is willing to 
give his heart's blood for his country is a thousand times 
better than the rebel white man whose hand is red with 
the blood of his neighbors. Sympathizing vnth the 
masters of the slaves as they do, these men among us 
don't want the slaves freed, put into our Union armies, 
or employed in the fortifications. They would prefer 
to have them remain slaves, that they may continue to 
raise food for the support of the rebel troops fighting 
and slaughtering your sons who stand for the defence of 
their country. They are opposed to our arming the 
slaves, • because thereby we swell the number of the 
Union army, and diminish and weaken the armies of the 
enemy. I am in favor of freeing and arming every 
slave against his rebel master and for the country. 

" For my part, I am willing to use every means in our 
power to strengthen our armies for the putting down of 
the rebellion. I would free every black man in the 
South, and put him in your armies to assist in saving 
your country from being blotted from the world. And 
if these men at home opposing us had joined with us, 
and aided in organizing the colored troops, instead of 
having a hundred thousand, we might have had two 
or three hundred thousand. And now, if Atlanta and 
Mobile were to fall within the next few weeks, the 



2 1 8 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

Government would obtain the military control of a dis- 
trict in which there are large numbers of slaves; and if 
the Government proceeds to organize them into regi- 
ments and brigades, and they are all willing to fight, 
when it is for their country and their liberty, it might 
save you from this draft, and not only so, but allow 
thousands of your war-worn friends to return. I would 
rejoice at such a result ; but how would it be with the 
men who passed the resolution under consideration ? 
They would raise some fresh denunciation of the admin- 
istration. If you could organize a hundred thousand 
mules that would kick this rebellion to death, I would 
be glad to have them do it. [Cheers and laughter.] I 
do not believe any rebel in the South is too good to be 
shot by a loyal negro, and I do not understand why these 
men are so opposed to having the negro fight for the 
Union, unless they don't want the Union preserved. 
They don't want to go themselves, and object to having 
the negro go. Still they say this is a war for the 
negro. It is not; it is a war for the Union. You 
know how rejoiced they are when they find any evi- 
dence that the negro soldier will not fight. They did 
fall back at Petersburg, and I regretted to hear it, be- 
cause that reverse prevented us from taking the place, 
perhaps. But the negroes were not the attacking column ; 
they were the supporting column ; and white troops fell 
back also from the crater of the mine that was exploded. 
And here I would have you listen to the testimony of 
the New York Herald^ which is not at all friendly to the 
negro: 

"new YORK HERALD ON NEGRO TROOPS. 

" * In connection with the story of alleged demorali- 



'Life of Schuyler Colfax, 219 

zation, justice compels it to be added that no troops ever 
made a finer charge than that made by the colored troops 
on the enemy's first line, directly following the mine's 
explosion. It is true they fell back after the second 
charge, but it is also true that in no charge made in this 
war, have troops been under such a severe and murder- 
ous exposing fire of musketry and shrapnel.' 

"They fell back in a panic which often overtakes 
troops of all kinds. I do not call negro soldiers better 
than white ones. If I were compelled to express my 
opinion, it might be that those of my own color are bet- 
ter and braver. For I have always told you, in spite of 
charges to the contrary, that while I believed in equality 
under the law for the poorest and humblest, I believed 
the Anglo-Saxon race was intellectually superior to all 
other races that walk on the foot-stool of God. That the 
negroes do fight bravely and heroically, is as true as 
that the sun shines in the heavens. They have proven 
it at Port Hudson, Milliken's Bend, Lake Providence, 
Newbern, etc. ; and at Olustee, Florida, the colored 
soldiers in the rear saved the entire army. It was only 
yesterday you read in the despatches that at Dalton, Gra., 
our soldiers were attacked — one hundred and fifty of 
them — by a largely superior force of the enemy. Refus- 
ing to surrender, they were about being beaten, when a 
negro regiment went out from behind the fortifications, 
and repulsed the superior forces of the enemy. Let these 
facts be remembered by those who oppose the use of the 
negroes in our armies. If they were friends of the Gov- 
ernment, they would welcome all the aid the negroes 
could afford us. At Bunker Hill, negroes fought along 
^de of Warren, and he did not think himself disgraced 
by them. In 1814, at New Orleans, negro soldiers 



220 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

fought along side of Jackson. He did not think it 
' abolition policy ' to arm them. On the contrary, they 
proved their heroism there, and in general orders he re- 
turned them thanks for their bravery. On the lakes, 
under Perry, when he broke the British power and 
achieved his great victory, sending up this heroic mes- 
sage, ' We have met the enemy and they are ours,' negro 
soldiers and sailors fought by his side. He was proud 
of them. And the Virginia Legislature not only called 
negro soldiers into the field, but passed an act emancipa- 
ting every slave who had fought for his country. Wash- 
ington appealed to Ehode Island to furnish a battalion 
of negroes in the revolutionary war. The history of our 
country is full of instances of this kind. But now when 
summoned to the field to put down this rebellion of the 
slaveholders, these men denounce it, because forsooth it 
weakens the rebels and strengthens the armies of the 
Union. Suppose their house was on fire, and some ne- 
groes in the vicinity ; do you think they would allow 
them to assist in putting it out? I apprehend they 
would. Why, then, when your great national fabric is 
in flames, do they oppose allowing negroes to pour out 
their life's blood in putting out the fire that imperils this 
edifice ? 

"It was a great question before the administration, 
whether we should allow rebels to use their slaves 
against us, or we use the slaves against them. I believe 
the administration solved it correctly, and I stand by it. 
You have heard a great deal said about negro worship- 
pers in the past. I think that when white men go forth 
from their homes, families and business, to lay down 
their lives, if need be, in order to save their country, no- 
body worships the negro so much as those who refuse to 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 221 

allow them to go into your armies to share the burdens 
and sacrifices of the contest. When the bill for this 
purpose was before Congress, every Democrat voted 
to strike out the word 'negroes,' while the rest of us 
voted the other way, and said, 'let the negroes be 
enrolled, too ; let them take their share in fighting for 
the Union.' (Cheers.) 

"the war not successful. 

" But we are asked, ' why are you not yet successful ? 
You have been fighting now for three years, and you 
have not accomplished any thing.' In the first place, they 
ignore all the triumphs of the past two years — that we 
have won an area of country larger than England, 
France and Austria combined, that our armies have cut 
their way to the Gulf, opened the Mississippi river, and 
bisected the realm of this rebellion. They ignore the 
fact that 800,000 square miles held by the Confederates 
have been reduced to 300,000, and all their military 
power is now confined to that narrow region between 
the Atlantic seaboard and the Alleghany Mountains, and 
between Kichmond and Atlanta. Suppose our cause 
had been reduced in the same way ; suppose they had 
pressed us back to the bounds of the Northwest, so that 
our flag dare not wave, except so far as Northern guer- 
illas, if we had such, might carry it ; suppose they had 
pressed us out of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Illi- 
nois, until our whole military power was locked up in 
New England and New York; suppose they had our 
seaboard blockaded, except two or three ports ; and sup- 
pose the last of our able-bodied men, down to sixteen 
years old, had been swept into our armies as they are in 
the Confederacy — for they can only make a draft now 



222 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

upon their cradles — then our cause would be in the 
condition of their cause. They have fought worthy of 
a better cause ; yet they have been pressed down, as we 
now see Sherman pressing them towards the heart of 
Georgia, where they are losing one hundred per cent. 
more than our armies lose in their engagements. And 
yet we are asked. Why are you not successful ? 

" UNITY OF EEBELS NORTH AND SOUTH. 

"I wish we had been more successful, and I will tell 
you how we could have been more successful. If we 
had followed the example of the South, who have been 
united as one man ; if the whole North in patriotism had 
been as much united as the rebellion in treason, they 
would have been crushed at the outset. If we had had 
unity at first, and afterward harmony and concord of 
action, the rebellion would have been put down long ago. 
While the South has made business of war, having their 
seacoast blockaded, their commerce and business gener- 
ally suspended, except such as has been necessary for the 
support of their armies, and directed all their energies 
against us in the North, we have had not only to fight 
rebellion in the South, but to contend with disloyalty, 
cupidity, and perfidy at home. Go to the South and 
you will hear them denouncing Lincoln as a tyrant ; and 
in the North you hear the same language. Go South, 
and you will hear them denouncing the legislation of 
Congress ; in the North you hear the same language, or 
worse. Down South they weaken your armies by con- 
fronting them in the field with musket and cannon ; up 
North you find them seeking to weaken those same 
armies by encouraging desertion. Have you not seen 
those letters, written by men in the North, encouraging 



' Life of Schuyler Colfax. 223 

your boys to desert ; which; patriots as they are, the sol- 
diers send back to be published, to the everlasting dis- 
grace of their authors. (Cheers.) These men of the 
South and these men of the North, seem like the two 
blades of a pair of shears, pressing together to cut the 
map of your country in two. (Cheers.) 

'' THE PEACE OF DEATH. 

" A few words on the question of peace. We all long 
for peace, and none more so than the administration and 
its supporters. I am opposed to all wars, except defen- 
sive wars. I am not in favor of the next war, or any 
other, except it be for the defence of our country. I do 
not believe in a war of aggrandizement, of conquest, or 
of hate. And I would not have asked any father here 
to give his son to the present war, if it had not been 
a war to save a great nation from death. It is sad 
to see a soldier die, on the battle-field or in the hospital ; 
but sadder is the death of a great nation, with all its his- 
tories of a glorious past, and its ripening harvest of a 
still brighter future. Such a death is one at which the 
world indeed might sorrow. It was to save our country 
from this death that we embarked in this war, and it is 
to avert this great calamity that the war must be prose- 
cuted to the end. 

" THE WAR NOT TO ABOLISH SLAVERY. 

" Oh, but they say, you made this war to abolish 
slavery. I deny it. They bring a document, written by 
Mr. Lincoln, on the 18th of July last, to prove it. But 
I ask you to remember that their denunciations of this 
war were just as bitter before as since that document 
was written. I hold in my hand the Democratic plat- 



2 24 ^\f^ of Schuyler Colfax, 

form of 1862, nearly six months after the introduction 
of the Crittenden Kesolution, which is as full of denun- 
ciations of the war as the resolutions of to-day. 

" NIAGARA PEACE NEGOTIATIONS. 

"A few weeks since certain commissioners, or men 
pretending to be commissioners, claiming to be the 
bearers of propositions of peace, appeared at Niagara 
Falls, and through Mr. Greeley, asked a safe conduct 
to Washington. When their request was granted by 
the President, on condition that they were duly author- 
ized by the rebel authorities to treat for peace, they 
replied that they had no authority of the kind, but be- 
lieved if they could be taken to Washington, and from 
thence through our lines to Eichmond, they could pro- 
cure such authority. The inference was unmistakable 
that they were spies, seeking to make observations, and 
the President sent back this declaration: 

" ' To Whom it may Concern : 

" ' Any proposition which embraces the restoration of 
peace, the integrity of the whole Union, and the aban- 
donment of slavery, and which comes by and with an 
authority that can control the armies now at war against 
the United States, will be received and considered by 
the Executive Government of the United States, and will 
be met by liberal terms on substantial and collateral 
points.' 

"Now you will have heard, on every highway and 
by-way, in every town and hamlet throughout the land, 
since th-e publication of this document, that Lincoln is 
prosecuting this war to compel the South to free their 
negroes. I deny that Mr. Lincoln, in laying down these 
terms, indicated that no others would be considered. 



Life $f Schuyler Colfax, 225 

He simply carried out the counsels of bis chief military 
adviser, Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant. I have 
here Grant's letter, written in August, 1863, in which he 
declares : 

'"The people of the North need not quarrel over the 
institution of slavery. What Vice-President Stephens 
acknowledges as the corner-stone of the Confederacy is 
already knocked out. Slavery is already dead, and 
cannot be resurrected. It would take a standing army 
to maintain slavery in the South, if we were to take 
possession, and had guaranteed to the South all her 
constitutional privileges. I never was an abolitionist; 
not even what would be called anti-slavery ; bat I try 
to judge fairly and honestly, and it became patent to 
my mind very early in the rebellion, that the North 
and South could never live at peace with each other, 
except as one nation, and that without slavery. As 
anxious as I am to see peace established, I would not, 
therefore, be willing to see any settlement until this 
question is forever settled.' 

"Whether right or wrong, that is the deliberate 
opinion of the General who is now commander-in-chief 
of your armies in the field, that the Union cannot be 
maintained in peace, unless slavery be destroyed. 

" NO CAUSE YET FOR DESPAIR. 

*'You may think, sometimes, that the prospect is 
gloomy ; but our fathers of the revolutionary war had 
seven years of war more gloomy than any we have yet 
had in this war. They were fighting against the most 
powerful nation on earth ; yet, in spite of disaster and 
gloom, they pressed on till the God of battles gave them 
victory. You may feel dispirited, but as for me, God 
helping me, I never will consent to the destruction or 



2x6 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

disintegraticwi of this Union. If we cannot live in peace 
as one nation, we cannot as two ; and, whenever you 
acknowledge this Confederacy, you acknowledge the 
right of secession, and there will be no end to division. 
It will be like picking the stones from under this build- 
ing, which would cause it to fall into a shapeless mass of 
ruins. First might come Michigan and say, ' you have 
acknowledged the right of the rebel States to secede, and 
you have let them go, yielding the point that the Con- 
stitution is the supreme law of the land, and agreeing 
that State rights shall take the place of national 
authority, in violation of the doctrines of Jackson, 
Webster, and Clay.' And Michigan might stand out by 
herself, repudiating your Constitution, Government, 
debt and all. Whenever you recognize one rebellion, 
and submit to the dismemberment of a part of the 
States, the door is open wide, and all others may follow. 
New York might say, ' we can prosper better alone than 
in partnership with the rest of the States.' Having the 
port of entry for all nations, the tariff duties that would 
fall into her hands would make her wealth unbounded. 
So one after another would go; and when you have 
thus made your Union a rope of sand, I ask where is 
your Government ? Where the pensions for your soldiers 
who have come home maimed and crippled in the 
nation's defence; where the annual stipend for the 
widows of those who have given their husbands that 
their country might live ? I ask, where is your flag and 
your nationality? You will be lower in the scale of 
nations than poor, despised Mexico, consigned to end- 
less anarchy. With long lines of border to defend 
against each other's encroachments, border warfare will 
be interminable, and instead of having peace as a result 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, ii'-j 

of recognition, you will have war all tbe time. And, 
as in Mexico, the prophecy of the old world may be 
realized, and some strong man perhaps come up from 
that era of anarchy, and plant a despotism on the soil 
of once free America, destroying your liberties forever. 

" On the contrary, your path of safety is to press on, ' 
yielding no jot of heart or hope, resolved that you will 
conquer at last. With that resolution there will be no 
such thing as failure. 

"THE PEACE THAT MEANS WAR. 

" While these men are crying peace on your street- 
corners and at your mass meetings, it is ascertained 
unquestionably that they are in secret organizing for 
war — war, not on rebels, but war on your Government, 
war on the nation, war upon the defenders of the Union 
especially. I know many of you have blamed Mr. Lin- 
coln because he did not arrest Vallandigham on his re- 
turn from his exile. You thought it was timorous on 
his part ; and it is the fashion in this country first to 
find fault with our rulers, and then learn the facts. In 
this case the facts were that when Yallandigham returned 
to the United States, it was, naturally enough, to attend 
a Democratic convention. You thought Lincoln should 
have arrested him at once ; but he knew the fact at that 
time, that there was a secret organization in the North- 
west, the details of which he was not familiar with, 
whose intention it was to make the arrest of Yallandig- 
ham the pretext of inaugurating civil war in the North. 
Anxious to preserve peace around your homes, he took 
no public notice of the return of that individual, in ord^ 
to take from that secret organization the pretext th^ 
had sought, and thus derange their plans. 



228 hife of Schuyler Colfax. 

"Since that time General Carrington and Governor 
Morton have obtained the whole ritual of that organiza- 
tion. Here it is, in the Indiana Sentinel^ not black Re- 
publican authority, bear in mind. Having found they 
could no longer keep it a secret, after its publication 
elsewhere, they publish the document, saying it is only 
a Democratic organization. What the Democracy of 
Indiana propose to do, and how, will be seen from the 
following section of their constitution : 

" * Section 8. The Supreme Commander shall take an 
oath to observe and maintain the principles of the order 
before entering upon the duties of this office, said oath 
to be prescribed by law. He shall be the presiding 
officer of the Supreme Council, and charged with the 
execution of all laws enacted by it. He shall be com- 
mander-in-chief of all military forces belonging to the 
order in the various States, when called into active ser- 
vice,' etc. 

" And at the meeting of the Grand Council in Feb- 
ruary, 1864, the Grand Commander, H. H. Dodd, of In- 
diana, says: 

"'Our political affinity is unquestionably with the 
Democratic party; and if that organization goes boldly 
to the work, standing firmly on its time-honored prin- 
ciples, maintaining unsullied its integrity, it is safe to 
presume that it will receive the moral and physical 
support of this wide-extended association.' 

"It is, as you see, confessedly a military organiza- 
tion — an army of men, of whom one is to be commander- 
in-chief; and it is contemplated that they shall be called 
into active service. What for? To reinforce the armies 
of the Union ? No ; they have nothing of that kind in 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 229 

their hearts. "What for, except to give aid and comfort 
to the enemies of the Union, by letting loo^e the dogs 
of war, rapine and bloodshed upon the Union men of 
the North ? And I tell you to-day that had it not been 
for the organization of Union Leagues, for counsel and 
concert in action, they would long ago have risen against 
us. But when they found they were confronted by your 
united strength, they quailed before it, and the organi- 
zation of the Knights of the Golden Circle was aban- 
doned, and the 'Sons of Liberty,' of Treason, rather, has 
been organized in its stead. 

" They say, ' Our political affinity is undoubtedly with 
the Democratic party,' which will receive the 'physical 
support of this wide-extended association.' How the 
'physical support?' Unquestionably through their 'Ma- 
jor-Generals,' 'Brigadier-Generals,' ' Colonels,' etc., 'when 
called into active service.' And all the while this organ- 
ization has been perfecting and planning operations, its 
members have been crying, ' Peace, peace.' They have 
been carrying white banners in their conventions out of 
doors; but indoors they have been organizing under 
the red flag, to make war upon you and your Govern- 
ment ; and now, after the mask has been torn from them, 
they justify themselves under the pretext that the elec- 
tions are to be interfered with, which interference they 
intend to resist as antagonistic to their liberties. This 
pretence has been very properly and explicitly exposed 
and denounced by Governor Morton. 

" What was it that enabled the South to precipitate 
this rebellion ? It was the organization of the Knights 
of the Golden Circle. And remember that of this or- 
ganization of the Sons of Liberty, Yallandigham is the 
Supreme Commander at the North, and Sterling Price, 



ajo . Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

a commanding General of rebels, in the South; and the 
members of the order are as much the sworn soldiers 
of Jefferson Davis as those in uniform and following the 
flag of the traitorous Confederacy. (Cheers.) I suppose 
you have them here, and I intend to denounce them as 
worse than the Jacobins of France, who plunged their 
country into the red sea of revolution. Do you doubt 
their intentions? Bead the following extract from a 
letter written to the Adjutant-General of the State, in 
reference to the Deputy Supreme Commander of the 
order : 

" ' Horace Heffren, of this county, who is charged with 
being second in command in Indiana, acknowledged, in 
a speech in Palmyra, Harrison county, on the occasion 
of the joint Democratic convention of the counties, that 
it was even so as reported of him in these expositions, 
and further said, that those who were in opposition to 
the Democratic party were standing upon the verge of a 
volcano, which would burst forth in a short time, and 
blow all men to hell who stood on the abolition side of 
the struggle.' This speech was made Saturday, July 30th. 

" * May, a defunct politician of this place, who has 
represented this county in former times, both in the 
Senate and House, is now going over the country talk- 
ing in this manner, and seemingly endeavoring to edu- 
cate the public mind to look upon this contemplative 
treason in the light of a grand scheme for the sudden 
termination of this war and the establishment of peace. 
He tells the people that when the strike is made all the 
State capitals will be taken, and the arsenals and arms 
placed in the hands of the order, who will then be in 
full power to confer with the South ; and that peace will 
be the result. Such is the boldness of their leader in 
this county at this time.^ 

"These are the men who are talking to you about 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 23 1 

p^ace. And I ask any man, who loves order and hates 
political convulsions, when he sees his country thus 
struggling against foes in the South and foes at home, 
seeking its death, is it not time to stop organizing under 
any other banner than the stars and stripes, and keep 
step to no other music than the music of the Union ? 

"THE SCAEEOROW OF THE NATIONAL DEBT. 

" Opposition to the war is also based on the condition 
of the national finances. During the last session of 
Congress the opposition insisted that the soldiers ought 
to be paid in gold. They were the champions for the 
increased pay of the soldiers. We increased it to six- 
teen dollars per month, but they wanted to make it 
twenty dollars, and to pay it in gold. One would have 
supposed them the greatest friends of the soldier. But 
when we come to pass the tax-bill, every one of them 
voted against it. How were the soldiers to be paid in 
gold or any thing else, without the passage of a tax-bill ? 
While pretending to be the soldiers' friends, they at heart 
were seeking to destroy the credit of the nation. They 
endeavored to make it appear that the bonds of the Gov- 
ernment were worthless; and to the same extent that 
they could establish such a state of things would they 
prove that the property and every thing else you have 
is worthless, for the credit of the Government is based 
on these. 

" To get at the truth of this matter let us inquire how 
much the national debt amounts to? It is seven per 
cent, on all the wealth of the country; and, by your last 
statistics you are increasing in wealth every year, even 
during the war^ more hy hundreds of millions than your 
debt is increasing. They say your expenditures are three 



2J2 Ltfe of Schuyler Colfax, 

or four millions a day. They seek every opportunity to 
exaggerate your debt and your reverses, and to be- little 
your victories. We have been in war three and a half 
years, they say, and the entire debt is one billion eight 
hundred millions of dollars, of which one hundred mil- 
lions was bequeathed by Buchanan, as a legacy to re- 
member him by — though I think we have enough else 
beside that. Your debt has increased less than five 
hundred millions a year, one and a half millions a day. 
Mr. Fessenden states that since the new tax-bill has 
come into operation, the receipts have been nearly a 
million a day, and the tariff gives over one hundred mil- 
lions a year in gold. If the war were to continue 
fifteen months longer, the debt would amount to two 
billions five hundred millions at the present rate of 
increase. Five hundred millions of it would be in 
greenbacks, on which there is no interest ; and two bil- 
lions of it would draw an average interest of six per 
cent, or less. I want to show you that our financial 
credit is based upon a rock, which even the rebellion 
may dash its storms against in vain. Your interest would 
be one hundred and twenty millions, if the war should 
continue fifteen months longer, which it cannot, and your 
annual civil expenses would be one hundred and thirty 
millions, making a total of two hundred and fifty mil- 
lions a year. The internal tax-bill raises one million a 
day, while you are getting no tax on whiskey ; and when 
it comes under the provisions of the bill the amount will 
be increased, unless you stop drinking whiskey, which 
few will do. Putting the receipts from the internal 
tax-bill at three hundred millions, and from the tariff 
at one hundred millions, you will have four hundred 
millions a year, with an expenditure of only two hun- 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 233 

dred and fifty millions, whicli will give a surplus for the 
reduction of taxes or the sinking of the debt of one 
hundred and fifty millions a year. 

" At the end of your last war, the national debt was 
just seven per cent, on the wealth of the nation, just 
what it is now ; and in twenty years, without any inter- 
nal tax, that debt was paid oft; and Jackson left the 
Presidential chair with the country free from debt. 
You are not in half as bad a condition as our fathers 
were in the revolution. With a population of less than 
three millions, and one-third of them disloyal, they put 
three hundred and ninety-five thousand soldiers in the 
field. If you were to put the same proportion in the 
field now, you would have four millions of men in your 
army. 

" Look at Great Britain in her war with France. Her 
debt was forty-one per cent, of all her property ; and 
with twenty-nine millions of a population, you would 
suppose they would have been crushed out. Yet they 
went on increasing in wealth, till their debt is now 
diminished by the increase of their wealth to twelve or 
fifteen per cent. And during that long time, though 
they had an opposition party that wanted peace, and 
Napoleon was in the acme of his power. Great Britain 
fought it out, and maintained her history and nationality. 

'*THE UNION AS IT WAS. 

"But they say, we are for the Union as it was. I, 
too, am for the Union as it was, and the reason I de- 
nounced that speech of Alexander Long's, and the reason 
I oppose the recognition of the Confederacy, is because 
I will not consent that a single star shall be pluckt^d 
from the azure blue of our national heavens. They are 



234 I^^fi of Schuyler Colfax, 

all to be tbere, and every star to represent a State. If 
you want any of those stars plucked out, and your flag 
trampled under foot, you should select some other man 
for your Kepresentative, for I never — no, never — shall 
consent to it. (Great applause.) But if these men mean 
by ' the Union as it was,' the hanging of men in Texas 
for daring to vote for the President of their choice, then 
I am not in favor of the Union as it was. If they mean 
the right to mob and murder men from the North, be- 
cause they believe in the Declaration of Independence, 
then I am not in favor of the Union as it was. If they 
mean by it the right to commit all manner of outrages 
on peaceable and law-abiding citizens from the North, 
because they happen to hold different views from theirs, 
then I am not in favor of the Union as it was. But a 
Union as it was before the outbreak of this rebellion, 
with every star on our flag representing a State, and 
with the right of free speech in fact, not that miserable 
pretense, lawless speech in favor of treason — but the 
right to declare yourself in favor of the God-given prin- 
ciples of liberty throughout the whole land, and to vote 
for whom you please, I am in favor of, to the last beat 
of my heart. (Great applause.) 

'' They say they are in favor of the Constitution as it 
is. Who are to blame that they have not the Constitu- 
tion as it is ? Nobody proposed to amend it but them- 
selves ; and they lifted the red hand of blood against it. 
They alone are to blame, and they can have it again by 
laying down their arms and returning to their allegiance 
to it. 

"the path of duty PLAIN". 

"We have but odc path of duty, in which to walk. 



' Life of Schuyler Colfax, 235 

It is to press on until every Malakoff in tlie Soutli shall 
fall; and every suffering Lucknow sliall hear the slogan 
of deliverance. If you are willing to yield, you are not 
worthy of those who have gone forth from homes happy 
with the sunlight of love, from wives and children pre- 
cious to them as the apple of their eye, to lay down 
their lives for you. If you are willing that the graves 
of the loved and lost shall, until the hour of resurrec- 
tion, be under a rebellious flag and on hostile soil, where 
no friend can shed a tear of sympathy, unless by permis- 
sion of Jefferson Davis, you are not worthy of the 
revolutionary fathers that bequeathed to us the most 
priceless liberty that was ever bequeathed from sire to 
son. No, I know you will not do it. Whether travel- 
ling in the valley of humiliation and disaster, or keeping 
my eye fixed on the heavens, I believe God reigns. I 
cannot believe his blessings will fall upon the Confeder- 
acy. God's ways are sometimes dark, but * sooner or 
later they touch the shining hills of day. ' 

'^ So it will be with us if we are faithful in this great 
endeavor. Above all, while your soldiers are in the 
front, there should be no word of discouragement among 
you. You hear from them no appeal to be allowed to 
lay down their arms and return hon^e. On the contrary, 
but one voice comes from the army, and that is: 'Stand 
fast, ye men of little faith !' I echo that appeal to you 
today. They are in the Thermopylae of danger. 
While their cheeks blanch not, and their hearts quail 
not before the foe, let your hearts and souls be 
strengthened by their heroism. Look how wonderfully 
God seems to have blessed this country. Eifty-five 
centuries this new world slumbered here in its primeval 
forests, the old world unconscious of its existence. At 



2^6 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

last, Columbus, guided by an unseen hand, landed on 
our shores. One hundred and thirty years more passed 
away, when the little Mayflower, weak and frail, came 
across the broad Atlantic in the cold, bleak winter, and 
landed on the New England shore to plant the institu- 
tions we are now enjoying. One hundred and thirty 
years more passed away, and our fathers struck for 
independence. They were a narrow fringe of population 
on the Atlantic sea-board. Throwing down the gauntlet 
of defiance to the most powerful nation the world ever 
saw, they were bankrupt in all but faith, hope, and 
courage in a noble cause. If you will read the history 
of the revolution, you will find that it was all the way 
through beset with disaster. Scarcely three months in 
the year did the sun of victory shine upon their ban- 
ners ; but they went on fearlessly, appealing to the God 
of battles, till at last, by their perseverance and heroism 
they won. The history of every nation shows that there 
has been an hour when the turning-point seemed nigh — 
when, by pressing on, they could win the good they sought, 
or by turning back, they wrote the history of their decline 
and fall. So it is to be with our country ; if we stand 
fast we shall be victorious. The God of battles will give 
victory to our armg. Already this great nation has had 
three generations of unequalled progress, while it has 
grown from three to thirty millions. Its gates have 
been open to the people of all lands. We have ad- 
vanced with remarkable success and power. Our 
domain is shaped by the geography of the continent, 
bolted and riveted by mountain and river, valley and 
plain. It is to be one country, if we are faithful to our 
fathers' trust ; with one Constitution, if we are faithful 
to the sainted dead ; one destiny, if we are faithful to 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 2^"] 

our gallant soldiers, now manfully beating back tbe en- 
emy. I appeal to you so to act, and so to vote, that your 
conduct shall tbrill the hearts of your soldiers, and give 
them fresh resolution to press on in the path they now 
so nobly tread ; fresh heroism in their conflicts with the 
enemy. Show them that you are guarding their sacred 
cause, and that as for you and your children, you are 
determined that there shall be but one nation, one flag, 
and one Constitution ; and then the historic page of the 
future will shine with a brighter glory as it records the 
history of this war, standing side by side with that great 
struggle out of which the nation was born." 



CHAPTEE XXII. 

IMPORTANT MILITARY EVENTS OF 1864 — POLITICAL 
EVENTS — UNION VICTORIES AT THE POLLS — MR. COL- 
FAX RE-ELECTED — HIS ABOUNDING LABORS — BANQUET 
TO HIM AT PHILADELPHIA. 

The year 1864 was marked by many notable events 
in the war with the rebellion. General Grant had come 
from the West to take charge of the armies in the East. 
This year witnessed the terrible battles of the Wilderness 
and the establishment of the Union forces south of the 
James. Sheridan, in this year, won his famous victories 
in the Shenandoah. General Sherman, passing from 
the north to the centre of the great State of Georgia, 
forcing his difScult path *' through mountain defiles and 
across great rivers, overcoming or turning formidably 



238 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

entrenched positions defended by a veteran army, com- 
manded by a cautious and skilful commander," after 
several months of fighting, took Atlanta. From Atlanta 
he made his wondrous march to the sea, and gave 
Savannah, as his Christmas gift, to the country. But 
in the political contests and triumphs of the year, events, 
no less important to the welfare of the country and the 
final overthrow of the rebellion, occurred. In 1862, 
Indiana had been carried by the Democracy. In 1864, 
it wheeled again into line with its great masses for 
union and for liberty. Union victories in the October 
elections of the great States of Pennsylvania, Ohio and 
Indiana, were precursors of the national triumph of the 
Union party in the November election for President. 
The administration was sustained, its strength in Con- 
gress largely increased, and President Lincoln re-elected. 
Victory after victory at the polls for the loyal lovers of 
the land, echoed back to the military successes of the 
army and navy the doom of the Confederacy. 

The re-election of Mr. Colfax had not at any time 
been doubtful, although nothing was left undone by his 
opponents to secure if possible his defeat. His canvass, 
which was opened auspiciously, was carried through 
triumphantly, and he was returned to Congress with an 
increased majority. But not to his own district, nor to 
his own State were his labors confined. Seemingly 
capable of more labor than any other man, through his 
unrivalled physical endurance, always fresh and vigor- 
ous, and in the full enjoyment of his mental powers, he 
addressed the people every secular day, of the week 
upon the great questions before them, and was one of 
the great workers whose efforts contributed so largel^^ 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 239 

in a fealf dozen States out of his own, to secure the 
glorious national triumph that was achieved. 

On his way to Washington, to attend the second ses- 
sion of the Thirty-eighth Congress, Mr. Colfax received 
the honor of a public banquet in Philadelphia, from an 
account of which in the North American^ of that city, we 
take the following : 

BANQUET TO SPEAKER COLFAX. 

" Hon. Schuyler Colfax, the popular Speaker of the 
late Congress, is now paying a brief visit to Philadel- 
phia. He comes among many personal friends, and 
among a community in which his political character is 
universally appreciated, and where his public services 
are heartily acknowledged. Mr. Colfax is the guest of 
Mr. W. J. P. White, an old and esteemed friend. He 
spent yesterday in viewing the environs of the city, 
paying a visit to the great military hospital — a town in 
itself — at Chestnut Hill. He leaves for Washington 
to-day. 

"Last evening a banquet was given to him, at the 
Assembly Buildings, by prominent citizens of Philadel- 
phia. Mr. Colfax is still a young man, with a physique 
as fine as his mind, and with as little of the lordling 
in his demeanor and bearing as there is in the least- 
pretending citizen among us. The gentlemen present 
included Hon. William D. Kelley, Hon. J. P. Verree, 
ex- Governor Pollock, with several members of the Sen- 
ate and Legislature, Messrs. L. A. Godey, William D. 
Lewis, Daniel Dougherty, the Presidents of City Coun- 
cils, and many of the prominent merchants and profes- 
sional men of this city. The company present numbered 
about one hundred and fifty gentlemen. 



240 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

"After the clotli was drawn, Mr. McMichael arose, 
and said that he performed, as chairman of this 
occasion, a most agreeable duty. He regretted that the 
lateness of the hour prevented him from saying more 
concerning Mr. Colfax than he now had time to do. It 
must suffice for him to say, in the briefest manner, that 
we are met to-night to do honor to Mr. Colfax, not only 
for his public character, but for his private virtues — 
because he was Speaker of the last Congress, and be- 
cause he comes from a State that has borne a noble part 
in the late Union victory. He proposed nine cheers for 
Mr. Colfax. 

" Three times three were then given for Mr. Colfax, 
who now arose, with a modest bow. 

"He thanked the assemblage for the greetings given 
to him in this city of Brotherly Love. He was so accus- 
tomed to replying to adverse criticisms that he could 
scarce find words to reply to such an honor as this. 
This reception is no ordinary mark of confidence and 
regard. He could ascribe it to no other motive than a 
desire to do honor to the noble State from which he 
came. (Applause.) 

" There was a more welcome speech to his ears than 
even that just made by Mr. McMichael. It came from 
Philadelphia. In his inland home his people, gathering 
at the telegraph office, heard a speech from Philadelphia 
on election night. 'Philadelphia gives ten thousand ma- 
jority for the Union.^ We sent the response that same 
night from Indiana, that we have overwhelmed the 
enemy by twenty thousand majority. Philadelphia 
may claim pre-eminence over the whole North for her 
Union majority. Maryland, thank God, has taken her 
place among the free States. The blood of the Mus;sa- 



Life of Schuyler Co fax, 241 

cliusetts martyrs has been the seed of the church of 
liberty. (Loud cheers.) 

*' We won the victory in Indiana with but one watch- 
word : ' Stand by the Government in its hour of trial.' 
It is our duty, we who are at home, to stand by the 
Grovernment. In the recent campaign our opponents 
had sufficient arms to crush out any opposition in other 
times. We had but one motto — devotion to our land. 
They held up high taxes, the draft, and every thing to 
influence the unthinking mind. We had but one 
weapon — our country! It is well for us to consider 
what has been decided by this great manifestation of the 
popular will. Abraham Lincoln is to remain in the 
Presidential chair until every rebel bows in allegiance 
to the Union. (Cheers.) It decides that the war is not 
a failure, and that it shall be carried on until our flag' 
floats over the whole country. (Applause.) It also de- 
cides that no sword of rebellion shall ever again disrupt 
this country. It has decided that the doctrine of seces- 
sion can never be maintained, nor an alien flag ever be 
allowed to float upon the soil that belongs to the United 
States of America. 

" It was decided that, as slavery had waded in blood 
to overthrow this Union, it should be utterly extirpated, 
both as a penalty for its crime and for our future se- 
curity. When traitors lit the torch of war in South Caro- 
lina, they at the same time lit the funeral pyre of their 
own slave-breeding institution in America. (Cheers.) 
If we cannot live upon the American soil as one nation, 
we cannot live as two nations. There should not be 
one man left to resist constitutional law, and the war 
should be prosecuted until the last rebel has grounded 
his arms. (Applause.) 



242 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

" We are mucli given in these days to talking about 
terms of peace. History never recorded more liberal 
terms than those offered by this Government to the 
traitors in arms agaiust it. We offer them peace if they 
voluntarily submit to the same laws that we cheerfully 
and willingly obey. We demand that they shall place 
out of their reach the causes that have brought on this 
rebellion. What could be more reasonable ? It is said 
that we are striking against slavery. But it was slavery 
that struck at our liberties, and the verdict of the people 
is, that it must die. (Deafening cheers.) It is the deadly 
enemy of the Union. We shall declare in Congress, 
week after next, that hereafter slavery shall be impos- 
sible in the American Eepublic. (Deafening shouts.) 
Within eleven votes it was passed at the last session. 
Forty-one votes given by gentlemen from those districts 
who have been repudiated by their constituents at the 
last election, will cause the passage of the bill week 
after next by a two-thirds vote of the incoming Congress. 

" The pathway toward peace will then be easy. Con- 
gress will keep faith with the sainted dead of the Eevo- 
lution, and with the soldiers of the front. Grant will go 
on with his splendid work, and Sherman, the conqueror, 
who has humbled the Gibraltar of the rebellion ; as he 
shall progress, we will stand by him and the heroes who 
follow his victorious banner. And so with Phil. Sheri- 
dan (applause) ; we will stand by him as by General 
Thomas — no doubting Thomas — upon whose banners are 
written victory and triumph for our armies. And so 
upon the ocean, we will stand by the brave tars upon 
every frigate and every iron-clad ; and then when victory 
comes, as it will come, when no more secession is possi- 
ble, and the whole world sees this country without a 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 243 

rebel or a slave within its wide domain; there shall be 
written all over it the motto — worthy of itself, worthy 
of its fathers — 'Liberty and Union, now and forever, 
one and inseparable.'" 

Mr. Colfax sat down amid a spontaneous burst of 
cheering and applause. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE FIRST ENTRANCE UPON SLAVE SOIL— THE CONSTI- 
TUTIONAL AMENDMENT ABOLISHING SLAVERY — IM- 
PORTANT EVENTS DURING THE SECOND SESSION OF 
THE THIRTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS — THE SPEAKER'S VAL- 
EDICTORY. 

In September, 184:9, Mr. Colfax, on his first visit to 
"Washington, had written to the Register: "At New 
Castle, for the first time in my life, I stepped upon slave 
soil. But little of the horrors of slavery are to be seen 
in the States of Maryland and Delaware ; but still the 
atmosphere does not seem as pure here as in those St?.tes 
blessed with all the privileges of freedom, I cannot 
forget that here, where I am now, the husband is liable 
at any hour to be torn away from his wife and sold into 
the Egyptian bondage of a Texas sugar plantation, and 
that the nurse of a master is subject to be traded off by 
him for cattle to work on his farm. True, such things 
are scarcely ever heard of here ; but the power exists, 
subject only to a master's caprice." 



244 -^i^ ^f Schuyler Colfax, 

The years of slavery propagandism, of Kansas troubles, 
of tlie war of the slavery rebellion, had followed. We 
have seen how instinctively Mr. Colfax turned to the 
oppressed, how tenaciously he adhered to his convictions 
of right, and how persistently and effectually he warred 
for his country and liberty. It must have been what 
the ancients denominated " a white day" to him, when, 
as Speaker of the House of Kepresentatives, he an- 
nounced the passage of the joint resolution of Con- 
gress, amending the Constitution and forever prohibiting 
slavery within the jurisdiction of the United States. 
This amendment to the Constitution had passed the 
Senate during the first session of the Thirty -eighth Con- 
gress, but had failed in the House. It then became 
one of the issues before the people in the Presidential 
election. The fact that the people had, by a decided 
majority, declared in its favor, gave Mr. Lincoln assu- 
rance that it would obtain in the second session of this 
Congress the requisite Constitutional majority of two- 
thirds. He, therefore, in his message to Congress, 
earnestly urged the reconsideration and adoption of the 
Constitutional amendment to secure the end of the war 
and the permanent welfare of the country. " At the close 
of the debate upon the amendment, when the vote was 
to be taken, the House of Kepresentatives was filled. 
The diplomatic circle was crowded, the galleries were 
packed, and the floor and lobbies of the hall itself were 
filled with distinguished soldiers and civilians. As the 
Clerk called the roll, there was perfect silence ; no sound 
made except that made by a hundred pencils quickly 
marking the ayes and noes, as the members responded. 
When the Speaker made the formal annunciation, ' The 
Constitutional majority of two-thirds having voted in 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 245 

t*he affirmative, the joint resolution is passed,' it was re- 
ceived with an uncontrollable outburst of enthusiasm. 
The Republican members, regardless of the rules, in- 
stantly sprang to their feet and applauded with cheers ; 
the example was followed by the spectators in the gal- 
leries, who waved their hats and the ladies their hand- 
kerchiefs, and cheers and congratulations continued for 
many minutes. Finally, Mr. Ingersoll, of Illinois, repre- 
senting the district of Owen Lovejoy, in honor, as he said, 
of the sublime event, moved that the House adjourn. 
The motion was carried ; but before the members left 
their seats, the roar of artillery announced to the people 
of Washington that the amendment had passed Con- 
gress." 

During the second session of the Thirty-eighth Con- 
gress, the armies of the Union had been marching on 
from victory to victory. Sherman had continued his 
glorious march from Savannah, northward. Columbia 
had fallen before him ; Charleston, which for nearly four 
years had successfully resisted all attempts to take it, 
was abandoned by the rebels on account of the occupa- 
tion of Columbia. The whole State of South Carolina 
was at the mercy of Sherman's army. Sherman was 
also on his victorious way to form a junction with Gen- 
eral Schofield in North Carolina, who already occupied 
some of the most important points in that State. The 
rebel army of the West had been completely crushed 
by the victory of Thomas over Hood, near Nashville. 
Grant, with the Grand Army of the Potomac, was tight- 
ening his grasp around Petersburg and Richmond, hold- 
ing Lee with all his force, and ready to take advantage 
of any diminution of troops in his front. 

On the night of the third of March, 1865, as is usual 
15 



246 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

on the last nigbt of the session, the President, with his 
Cabinet, was at his room in the Capitol, to receive the 
numerous acts which always pass Congress during the 
last hurried hours of the session. It was a stormy night, 
and while the President was thus waiting, exchanging 
congratulations with Senators and members, there came 
to the Secretary of War a telegram from General Grant, 
announcing that Lee had at last sought an interview 
with him, for the purpose of trying to arrange terms of 
peace. 

These military successes, indicating the speedy and 
litter destruction of the Confederacy, together with the 
political successes which had been achieved, and the 
coming inauguration of President Lincoln for his second 
term of office, enable us to enter with our sympathies 
into the glow of feeling pervading the valedictory of the 
Speaker of the House, with which the Thirty-eighth 
Congress, with its wise and beneficent legislation, and 
forensic conflicts between liberty and slavery, passed 
into history : 

THE SPEAKER'S VALEDICTORY. 

"Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: 
The parting hour has come ; and, yonder clock, ' which 
takes no note of time but by its loss,' will soon announce 
that the Congress of which we are members, has passed 
into history. Honored by your votes with this respon- 
sible position, I have faithfully striven to perform its 
always complex and often perplexing duties, without 
partisan bias, and with the sincerest impartiality. Whe- 
ther I have realized the true ideal of a presiding officer, 
aiding, on the one hand, the advance of the public busi- 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 247 

ness, with the responsibility of which the majority is 
charged, and on the other hand allowing no trespass on 
the parliamentary rights of the minority, must be left 
for others to decide. But, looking back now over the 
entire Congress, I cannot remember a single word 
addressed to you which, '■ dying, I could wish to blot.' 

" On this day, which, by spontaneous consent, is being 
observed, wherever our flag floats, as a day of national 
rejoicing, with the roar of cannon greeting the rising 
sun on the rock-bound coast of Maine, echoed and re- 
echoed by answering volleys from city to city, and from 
mountain-peak to mountain-peak, till, from the Golden 
Gate, they die away far out on the calm Pacific, we 
mingle our congratulations with those of the freemen 
we represent over the victories for the Union that have 
made the winter just closing so warm with joy and hope. 
With them, we rejoice that the national standard, which 
our revolutionary fathers unfurled over the land, but 
which rebellion sought to strike down and destroy, 
waves as undisputed, at this glad hour, over the cradle 
of secession at Charleston as over the cradle of liberty 
at Faneuil Hall ; and that the whole firmament is aflame 
with the brilliant glow of triumphs for that cause so 
dear to every patriot heart. We have but recently 
commemorated the birthday of the Father of his Country, 
and renewed our pledge to each other that the nation he 
founded should not be sundered by««ithe hand of treason ; 
and the good news that assures the salvation of the 
'rKepublic is doubly joyous, because it tells us that the 
prayers of the past four years have not been unanswered, 
and that the priceless blood of our brave defenders, so 
freely offered and so profusely spilt, has not been shed 
in vain. 



248 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

""We turn, too, to-day, with a prouder joy than ever 
"before, to that banner, brilliant with stars from the hea- 
vens, and radiant with glories from the earth, which, 
from Bunker Hill to Yorktown, from Lundy's Lane to 
New Orleans, and all through the darker hours of the 
rebellion in the past, to Savannah, and Fort Sumter, and 
Charleston, and Columbia, and Fort Fisher, and Wil- 
mington, in the present, has ever symbolized our unity 
and our national life, as we see inscribed on it inefface- 
ably that now doubly-noble inscription, 'Liberty and 
Union, now and forever, one and inseparable.' 

" But in this hour of gladness I cannot forget the 
obligations, paramount and undying, we owe to our 
heroic defenders on every battle-field upon the land and 
every wave-rocked monitor and frigate upon the sea. 
Inspired by the sublimest spirit of self-sacrifice, they have 
realized a million-fold the historic fable of Curtius, as they 
have offered to close up with their own bodies, if need be, 
the yawning chasm that imperilled the Eepublic. For 
you and me, and for their country, they have turned 
their backs on the delights of home, and severed the 
tenderest of ties to brave death in a thousand forms ; to 
confront with unblanched cheek the tempest of shot, and 
shell, and flame; to storm frowning batteries and bristling 
entrenchments ; to bleed, to suffer and to die. As we 
look from this Capitol Hill over the nation, there are 
crushed and broken hearts in every hamlet ; there are 
wounded soldiers, mangled with rebel bullets, in every 
hospital ; there are patriot graves in every churchyard ; 
there are bleaching bones on every battle-field. It is 
the lofty and unfaltering heroism of the honored living 
and the even more honored dead that has taken us from 
every valley of disaster and defeat, and placed our feet 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 249 

on the sun-crowned heights of victory. The granite 
shaft may commemorate their deeds, our American 
Yalhalla may be crowded with the statues of our heroes, 
but our debt of gratitude to them can never be paid 
while time shall last and the history of a nation shall 
endure. 

" If my voice, from this Eepresentative hall, could be 
heard throughout the land, I would adjure all who love 
the Republic to preserve this obligation ever fresh in 
grateful hearts. The dead, who have fallen in these 
struggles to prevent an alien flag from waving over the 
ashes of Washington, or over the graves where sleep the 
great and patriotic rivals of the last generation, the hero 
of New Orleans and the illustrious Commoner of Ken- 
tucky, cannot return to us. On Shiloh's plain and 
Carolina's sandy shore, before Richmond, and above the 
clouds at Lookout Mountain, the patriot martyrs of 
constitutional liberty sleep in their bloody shroads till 
the morning of the resurrection. But the living are 
left behind, and if the Sacred Record appropriately 
commends the poor, who are ever with us, to our bene- 
factions and regard, may I not remind you that the 
widow and the fatherless, the maimed and the wounded, 
the diseased and the suffering, whose anguish springs 
from this great contest, have claims on all of us, height- 
ened immeasurably by the sacred cause for which they 
have given so much ? Thus, and thus alone, by pouring 
the oil of consolation into the wounds that wicked 
treason has made, can we prove our devotion to our 
fatherland and our affectionate gratitude to its defenders. 
And, rejoicing over the bow of promise we already see 
arching the storm-cloud of war, giving assurance that 
no deluge of secession shall again overwhelm or endanger 



250 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

our nation, we can join, with heart and soul, sincerely 
and trustingly, in the poet's prayer ; 

*' ' Now, Father, lay Thy healing hand 
In mercy on our stricken land ; 
Lead all its wanderers to the fold, 
And be their Shepherd, as of old. 

*" So shall our nation's song ascend 
To Thee, our Ruler, Father, Friend ; 
While heaven's wide arch resounds again 
With peace on earth, good-will to men.' 

" We go hence, with our official labors ended, to the 
Senate chamber and the portico of the Capitol, there, 
with the statue of the Goddess of Liberty looking down 
for the first time from her lofty pedestal on such a scene, 
to witness and participate in the inauguration of the 
Elect of the American people. And now, thanking you 
most truly for the approbation of my of&cial conduct 
which you have recorded on your journal, I declare the 
House of Kepresentatives of the Thirty-eighth Congress 
of the United States adjourned sine dieP 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE CONTEMPLATED OVERLAND JOURNEY — THE LAST 
GOOD-BYE OF MR. LINCOLN — THE PRESIDENT'S ASSAS- 
SINATION — MR. COLFAX's EULOGY UPON THE MAR- 
TYRED PRESIDENT. 

Before the war of the rebellion, Mr. Colfax had 
planned an overland journey to California and Oregon. 



Life of Schuyler Co fax. 251 

He had expected to take this journey during the sum- 
mer of 1861. The breaking out of the war caused its 
indefinite postponement. In the spring of 1865, when 
every thing gave promise of the speedy extinction of 
the Confederacy, this journey was again determined 
upon. Upon the 14th of April, Mr. Colfax was in 
Washington. He called early in the morning upon the 
President. Mr. Lincoln spent over an hour with him 
conversing in regard to the future, and explaining how 
he hoped to heal the wounds of the war, and build upon 
a sure foundation the great Republic. He also received 
from Mr. Lincoln a message for the miners of the far 
West. In the early evening, Mr. Colfax in company 
with Mr. George Ashmun of Massachusetts, who had 
presided over the Chicago Convention that nominated 
Mr. Lincoln for President, again called upon him. 
Amidst the rejoicings in Washington that day, on 
account of the successive national victories, it had been 
announced by the papers of the day, that General 
Grant, who had just returned to Washington from his 
final victory over Lee, and the President, would be at 
Ford's theatre that night. General Grant had an 
engagement, which prevented him from attending. The 
President was reluctant upon that occasion to attend, but 
was persuaded to go, that the people might not be disap- 
pointed. Mr. Colfax walked from the parlor to the 
door with the President, and at the door bade him 
'' good-bye," declining his invitation to accompany him 
to the theatre, on account of his own engagements that 
evening. It was doubtless the last good-bye ever ut- 
tered by the President. It was the fatal night of his 
assassination. 

No one, outside of the immediate family of the mar- 



252 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

tyred President, felt more keenly or deeply than Mr. 
Colfax the demoniacal crime that robbed the country of 
its good President and wise and patriotic head. One of 
the finest eulogies of President Lincoln and most faithful 
portraitures of his character, came almost impromptu 
from the heart of Mr. Colfax. After his return from 
"Washington, it was written during a single night for his 
friends and neighbors at South Bend. It was repeated 
by invitation of the Christian Commission at Bryan 
Hall, Chicago, Sabbath evening, April 80th, to an 
audience which crowded the hall an hour before the 
time of its delivery. It is a delineation of Mr. Lincoln's 
character, which will not be permitted to die, and is 
alike worthy of its exalted subject and its author : 

EULOGY UPON THE LIFE AND PRINCIPLES 
OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

" Over two centuries and a half have passed away since 
the ruler of any great nation of the world has fallen by 
the murderous attack of an assassin ; and for the first 
time in our history there is blood on the Presidential 
chair of our Republic. Death is almost always sadden- 
ing. The passing away of some dear friend from our 
earthly sight forever, fills the heart with sorrow. When 
it strikes down one who fills honorably a position of 
influence and power, as in the case of our two Presidents 
who died of disease in the White House, the sincerest 
grief is felt throughout the land. But when this afllic- 
(tion is aggravated by death coming through the hand 
of a murderer, it is not strange that the wave of woe 
sweeps gloomily over a nation, which sits down to mourn 
in sackcloth, its pulses of business stilled, feeling in 
every individual heart as if there was one dead at our 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 253 

own hearth -stones. It seems, too, as if this wicked deed 
was intensified, in all its horror, by every attendant 
circumstance. The fatal shot was fired on the very day 
when the Nation's flag was again unfurled in triumph 
over that fort in Charleston harbor, which, in four years' 
time, had been the cradle and the grave of the rebellion. 
It was at a time when the death of the President could 
not be of the slightest avail to the treasonable conspiracy 
against the Republic, which its military leaders acknowl- 
edged at last was powerless and overthrown. And it 
was aimed, alas, with too sure a hand, at the life of that 
one man in the Government whose heart was tenderest 
towards the would-be assassins of the Nation's life. 

"You may search history, ancient and modern, and 
when the task is ended, all will concede that Abraham 
Lincoln was the most merciful ruler who ever put down 
a powerful rebellion. He had so won the hearts of the 
people, and so entwined himself in their regard and 
affection, that he was the only man living who could 
have stood in the breach between the leaders of this 
iniquity and the wrath of the country they had plunged 
into bloody war. Feeling, as so many did, that his 
kindly heart almost forgot justice in its throbbings for 
mercy, yet, knowing his unfaltering devotion to his 
country, his inflexible adherence to principle, his un- 
yielding determination for the restoration of our national 
unity, there was a trust in him, almost filial in its loving 
confidence, that whatever he should finally resolve on 
would prove in the end to be for the best. Had he been 
an unforgiving ruler ; had his daily practice been to sit 
in his high place, and there administer with unrelenting 
severity the penalties of offended law ; had he proclaimed 
his resolution to consign all the plotters against his coun- 



2^4 L^f^ of Schuyler Colfax. 

try to the gallows they had earned, we might have un- 
derstood why the rebel assassins conspired against his 
life. But no assassination in history — not even that of 
Henry lY., of France, for which Kavaillac was torn in 
pieces by horses, nor William of Orange — approximates 
in utter un palliated infamy to this. 

" In the midst of the national rejoicings over the as- 
sured triumph of the national cause, with illuminations 
and bonfires blazing in every town, and the merry peal 
of the festive bell in every village, our cities blossoming 
with flags, our hearts beating high with joy, the two 
great armies of Grant and Lee fraternizing together after 
their long warfare, and exulting together over the return 
of peace, we were brought, in a single moment, from 
the utmost heights of felicity to the deepest valleys of 
lamentation. No wonder that rebel Generals acknowl- 
edged that it sent down their cause, through all the 
coming centuries, to shameless dishonor. For, disguise 
it, as some may seek to do, behind the form of the assas- 
sin, as his finger pulled the fatal trigger, looms up the 
dark and fiendish spirit of the rebellion, which, baffled 
in its work of assassinating the nation's life, avenged 
itself on the life of him who represented the nation's 
o,ontest and the nation's victory. As surely as the in- 
/amous offer of twenty-five thousand crowns by Philip 
of Spain to whomsoever would rid the world of the 
pious William of Orange, the purest and best-loved 
ruler of his times, who, by a striking coincidence, was 
called Father William, as we called our beloved Presi- 
dent Father Abraham — as surely as this public offer,< 
with its false denunciations of William's offences, in- 
spirited the murderous Balthazar to shoot him through 
the body — so surely are the chiefs of this gigantic re- 



Life of Schuyler Co fax. 255 

be] lion of our times responsible for the fatal bullet that 
carried death to our Chief Magistrate, and filled the 
land with unavailing sorrow. 

"I can scarcely trust myself to attempt the portraiture 
of our martyred chief, whose death is mourned as never 
man's was mourned before; and who, in all the ages 
that may be left to America, while time shall last, will 
be enshrined in solemn memory with the Father of the 
Eepublic which he saved. How much I loved him per- 
sonally, I cannot express to you. Honored always by 
his confidence ; treated ever by him with affectionate re- 
gard ; sitting often with him familiarly at his table ; his 
last visitor on that terrible night; receiving his last 
message, full of interest to the toiling miners of the dis- 
tant West ; walking by his side from his parlor to his 
door, as he took his last steps in that Executive Mansion 
he had honored ; receiving the last grasp of that gener- 
ous and loving hand, and his last, last good-bye ; de- 
clining his last kind invitation to join him in those 
hours of relaxation which incessant care and anxiety 
seemed to render so desirable, my mind has since been 
tortured with regrets that I had not accompanied him. 
If the knife which the assassin had intended for Grant 
had not been wasted, as it possibly would not have been, 
on one of so much less importance in our national^ af- 
fairs, perchance a sudden backward look at that eventful 
instant might have saved that life, so incalculably pre- 
cious to wife and children and country ; or, failing in 
iihat, might have hindered or prevented the escape of his 
murderer. The willingness of any man to endanger bis 
ife for another's is so much doubted that I can scarcely 
dare to say how willingly I would have risked my own 
to preserve his, of such priceless value to us all. But if 



•2^6 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

you can realize that it is sweet to die for one's country, 
as so many scores of thousands, from every State and 
county and hamlet, have proved in the years that are; 
■past, you can imagine the consolation there would be to 
any one, even in his expiring hours, to feel that he had^ 
saved the land from the funereal gloom which, but a few 
days ago, settled down upon it from ocean to ocean, and 
from Capitol to cabin, at the loss of one for whom even a 
hecatomb of victims could not atone. 

" Of this noble-hearted man, so full of genial impulses, 
so self-forgetful, so utterly unselfish, so pure, and gentle, 
and good, who lived for us, and at last died for us, I feel 
how inadequate I am to portray his manifold excellen- 
cies — his intellectual worth — his generous character — his 
fervent patriotism. Pope celebrated the memory of 
Kobert Harley, the Earl of Oxford, a privy counsellor 
of Queen Anne, who himself narrowly escaped assassi- 
nation, in lines that seem prophetic of Mr. Lincoln's 
virtues : 

*' * A soul supreme, in each hard instance tried ; 
Aliove all pain, all anger, and all pride, 
The rage of power, the blast of public breath, 
The lust of lucre, and the dread of death.' 

" No one could ever convince the President that he was 
in danger of violent death. Judging others by himself, 
he could not realize that any one could seek his blood. 
Or he may have believed, as Napoleon wrote to Jerome, 
that no public man could effectually shield himself from 
the danger of assassination. Easier of access to the 
public at large than had been any of his predecessors; 
admitting his bitterest enemies to his reception-room 
alone ; restive under the cavalry escort which Secretary 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 257 

Stanton insisted should accompany him last summer in 
his daily journeys between the White House and his 
summer residence, at the Soldier's Home, several miles 
from Washington, at a time, too, as since ascertained in 
the details of this long-organized plot, discovered since 
his death, when it was intended to gag and handcuff 
him and to carry him to the rebel capital as a hostage 
for their recognition; sometimes escaping from their 
escort by anticipating their usual hour of attendance ; 
walking about the grounds unattended ; he could not be 
persuaded that he ran any risk whatever. Being at 
City Point after the evacuation of Eichmond, he deter- 
mined to go thither, not from idle curiosity, but to see 
if he could not do something to stop the effusion of 
blood and hasten the peace for which he longed. The 
ever- watchful Secretary of War hearing of it, implored 
him by telegraph not to go, and warned him that some 
lurking assassin might take his life. But, armed with 
his good intentions — alas, how feeble a shield they 
proved against the death-blow afterwards — he went, 
walked fearlessly and carelessly through the streets — 
met and conferred with a rebel leader who remained 
there ; and when he returned to City Point telegraphed 
to his faithful friend and constitutional adviser, who till 
then had feared, as we all did at that time, for his life : 

" 'I received your despatch last night; went to Eich- 
mond this morning, and have just returned. 

"'Abraham Lincoln.' 

" When I told him, on that last night, how uneasy all 
had been at his going, he replied, pleasantly and with a 
smile, (I quote his exact "^'ords :) 



258 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

"'Why, if any one else had been President^ and had 
gone to Richmond, I would have been alarmed too ; 
but I was not scared about myself a bit.' 

" If any of you have ever been in Washington, you will 
remember the footpath, lined and embowered with trees, 
leading from the back door of the War Department to 
the White House. One night, and but recently, too, 
when, in his anxiety for news from the army, he had 
been with the Secretary in the telegraph office of the 
department, he was about starting home at a late hour 
by this short route. Mr. Stanton stopped him and said, 
'You ought not to go that way; it is dangerous for you 
even in the day-time, but worse at night.' Mr. Lincoln 
replied, ' I don't believe there's any danger there, day 
or night.' Mr. Stanton responded solemnly, ' Well, 
Mr. President, you shall not be killed returning that 
dark way from my department while I am in it ; you 
must let me take you round by the avenue in my car- 
riage.* And Mr. Lincoln, joking the Secretary on his 
imperious military orders, and his needless alarm on 
his account, as he called it, entered his carriage, and 
was driven by the well-lighted avenue to the White 
House. 

" And thus he walked through unseen dangers, without 
'the dread of death;' his warm heart so full of good- 
will, even to his enemies, that he could not imagine 
there was any one base enough to slay him ; and the 
death-dealing bullet was sped to its mark in a theatre, 
where, but little over an hour before, he had been wel- 
comed as he entered, by a crowded audience rising, and 
with cheers and waving of handkerchiefs, honoring him 
with an ovation of which any one might well be proud. 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 259 

Some regret that "he was there at all. But, to all human 
appearance, he was safer there, bj far, than in his own 
reception-room, where unknown visitors so often entered 
alone. He found there a temporary respite occasionally 
from the crowds who thronged his ante-rooms — relaxa- 
tion from the cares and perplexities which so constantly 
oppressed him, keeping his mind under the severest 
tension, like the bent bow, till it almost lost its spring — 
and, on this fatal night, to be so black a one hereafter 
in our calendar, going with reluctance, and, as he ex- 
pressed it to Mr. Ashmun and myself, only because 
General Grant, who had been advertised with himself, 
to be present, had been compelled to leave the city, and 
he did not wish to disappoint those who would expect 
to see him there. 

" To those who have expressed their regrets that the 
murderer found him in a theatre, let me further add, 
that, by the etiquette of Washington, the President is 
prohibited from making or returning calls, except in 
the case of the dangerous illness of some intimate friend. 
If he made one social visit, the thousands whom he could 
not call on, and especially distinguished strangers from 
abroad, would feel the discrimination. And hence, a 
President, not able to enjoy a social evening at some 
friend's residence, as all of us can, must remain within 
the four walls of the White House, or seek relaxation 
from the engrossing cares which always confront him 
there from sunrise till midnight, at some public place 
of amusement. I remember, that, when we heard of 
those bloody battles of the Wilderness which any one 
less persistent than General Grant would have regarded' 
as reverses that justified retreat, Mr. Lincoln went to the 
opera, saying : 



26o Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

"'People may think strange of it, but I must have 
some relief from this terrible anxiety, or it will kill 



"Of the many thousands of persons I have met in 
public or private life, I cannot call to mind a single one 
who exceeded him in calmness of temper, in kindness 
of disposition, and in overflowing generosity of impulse. 
I doubt if his most intimate associate ever heard him 
utter bitter or vindictive language. He seemed wholly 
free from malignity or revenge ; from ill-will or injustice. 
Attacked ever so sharply, you all remember that he 
never answered railing with railing. Criticized ever so 
unjustly, he would reply with no word of reproof, but 
patiently and uncomplainingly, if he answered at all, 
strive to prove that he stood on the rock of right. When 
from the halls of Congress or elsewhere, his most earnest 
opponents visited the White House with business, they 
would be met as frankly, listened to as intently, and 
treated as justly as his most earnest friends. It could 
be said of him as Pyrrhus said of Fabricius when the 
latter, though in hostile array, exposed to his enemy the 
treachery of his physician, who proffered to poison him : 
'It is easier to turn the sun from his course than Fabri- 
cius from his honesty.' Men of all parties will remem- 
ber, when the exciting contest of last fall ended in his 
triumphant re-election, his first word thereafter, from 
the portico of the White House, was, that he coald not, 
and would not, exult over his countrymen who had dif- 
fered from his policy. 

" And thus he ruled, and thus he lived, and thus he 
died. The wretch who stood behind him and sent his 
bullet crashing through that brain, which had been de- 
vising plans of reconciliation with the country's deadly 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 261 

foes, as lie leaped upon the stage and exulted over the 
death of him whom he denounced as a tyrant, uttered 
as foul a falsehood as the lying witnesses who caused 
the conviction and the crucifixion of the Son of Man, 
on the same Good Friday, nearly two thousand years 
ago. I would not compare the human with the Divine, 
except in that immeasurable contrast of the finite with 
the Infinite. But his whole life proves to me that if he 
could have had a single moment of consciousness and 
of speech, his great heart would have prompted him to 
pray for those who had plotted for his blood, ' Father, 
forgive them, for they know not what they do.' 

"He bore the nation's perils and trials and sorrows 
ever on his mind. You knew him, in a large degree, 
by the illustrative stories, of which his memory and his 
tongue were so prolific, using them to point a moral, or 
to soften discontent at his decisions; but this was the 
mere badinage which relieved him for the moment 
from the heavy weight of public duties and responsi- 
bilities under which he often wearied. Those whom he 
admitted to his confidence, and with whom he conversed 
of his feelings, knew that his inner life was chequered 
with the deepest anxiety and most discomforting solici- 
tude. Elated by victories for the cause which was ever 
in his thoughts, reverses to our arms cast a pall of de- 
pression over him. One morning, over two years agO; 
calling upon him on business, I found him looking more 
than usually pale and care-wora, and inquired the reason. 
He replied, with the bad news he had received at a late 
hour the previous night, which had not yet been com- 
municated to the press, adding that he had not closed 
his eyes or breakfasted ; and, with an expression I shall 
never forget, he exclaimed : 
16 



262 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

" ' How willingly would I exchange places to-day witli 
the soldier who sleeps on the ground in the Army of 
the Potomac' 

"He was as free from deceit as guile. He had one 
peculiarity, which often misled those with whom he 
conversed. When his judgment, which acted slowly, 
but which was almost as immovable as the eternal hills 
when settled, was grasping some subject of importance, 
the arguments against his own desire seemed uppermost 
in his mind; and in conversing upon it, he would pre- 
sent these arguments to see if they could be rebutted. 
He thus often surprised both friend and foe in his final 
decisions. Always willing to listen to all sides till the 
last possible moment, yet when he put down his foot, 
he never took a backward step. Once speaking of an 
eminent statesman, he said : 

*''When a question confronts him, he always and 
naturally argues it from the stand-point of which is the 
better policy ; but with me/ he added, ' my only desire 
is to see what is right.' 

''And this is the key to his life. His parents left Ken- 
tucky for Indiana, in his childhood, on account of slavery 
in the former State ; and he thus inherited a dislike for 
that institution. As he said recently to Governor Bram- 
lette, of his native State, ^If slavery be not wrong, 
nothing is wrong.' Moving to Illinois, he found the 
prejudice there against anti-slavery men, when he 
entered on public and professional life, more intense 
than in any other free State in the Union. But he never 
dissembled, never concealed his opinions. Entering, in 
1858, on that great contest with his political rival, but 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 26^ 

personal friend, Judge Douglas, whicli attracted the 
attention of the whole Union, he startled many of his 
friends by the declaration of his conviction that the 
rllnion could not permanently endure half-slave and 
half-free ; that ultimately it would be either the one or 
the other, or be a divided house that could not stand ; 
that he did not expect the Union to be dissolved, or the 
house to fall, but that it would cease to be divided ; and 
that the hope of the Eepublic was in staying the spread 
of slavery, that the public mind might rest in the hope 
of its ultimate extinction. And though he coupled this 
with declarations against Congressional interference with 
it in existing States, it was not popular, and kept him 
in the whole canvass upon the defensive. But to every 
argument against it, his calm reply was, in substance, 
'such is my clear conviction, and I cannot unsay it.' 

" His frankness in expressing unpopular opinions was 
manifested, also, when in Southern Illinois, before an 
audience almost unanimously hostile to the sentiment, 
he declared, in the same close and doubtful contest, that, 
when the Declaration of Independence proclaimed that 
all men were created equal, it did not mean white men 
alone, but negroes as well ; and that their rights to life, 
liberty, and happiness were as inalienable as the noblest 
of the land. He claimed no power over State laws in 
other States which conflicted with these rights, or cur- 
tailed them; but with unfaltering devotion to his con- 
scientious conviction, and regardless of its effects on his 
political prospects, he never wavered in his adherence 
to this truth. 

'^And yet, when elected President of the United States, 
he executed the Fugitive Slave Law, because his oath 
of ofiice as the Executive, in his opinion, required it. 



264 ^^f^ of Schuyler Colfax. 

When urged to strike at slavery under the war power, 
tie replied; in a widely-published letter: 

"'My paramount object is to save the Union, and I 
would save it in the shortest way. If I could save the 
Union without freeing any slaves, I would do it. If I 
could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it ; 
and if I could do it by freeing some and letting others 
alone, I would also do that. But I intend no modifica- 
tion of my oft-expressed wish that all men everywhere 
could be free.' 

" And when at last the liour arrived when, in his honest 
opinion, the alternative between the death of slavery and 
the death of the Union confronted him ; then, and not 
till then, he struck at the cause of all our woes with the 
battle-axe of the Union. Signing that immortal procla- 
mation, which made him the Liberator of America, on 
the afternoon of January 1st, 1863, after hours of New 
Year's hand-shaking, he said to me and other friends, 
that night : 

" ' The signature looks a little tremulous, for my hand 
was tired, but my resolution was firm. I told them, in 
September, if they did not return to their allegiance, 
and cease murdering our soldiers, I would strike at 
this pillar of their strength. And now the promise shall 
be kept ; and not one word of it will I ever recall.' 

J " And the promise was kept, and every word of it has 
J stood. Thank God, when slavery and treason benumbed 
.that hand in death, they could not destroy the noble 
. instrument to which that hand had given a life that shall 
never die. A great writer said, that, when Wilberforce 
stood at the bar of God, he held in his hands the broken 



Life of Schuyler Co fax. 26^ 

shackles which on earth had bound hundreds of thou- 
sands of his fellow-men. But, when baffled treason 
hurried Abraham Lincoln into the presence of his 
Maker, he bore with him the manacles of four millions 
whom he had made free — fetters that no power on God's 
footstool is strong enough to place again on their en- 
franchised limbs. 

" No man, in our era, clothed with such vast power, 
has ever used it so mercifully. No ruler, holding the 
keys of life and death, ever pardoned so many and so 
easily. When friends said to him they wished he had 
more of Jackson's sternness, he would say, ' I am just 
as God made me, and cannot change.' It may not be 
generally known that his doorkeepers had standing 
orders from him, that no matter how great might be the 
throng, if other Senators and Eepresentatives had to 
wait, or be turned away without an audience, he must 
see, before the day closed, every member who came to 
him with a petition for the saving of life. One night, in 
February, I left all other business to ask him to respite 
the son of a constituent, who was sentenced to be shot 
at Davenport, for desertion. He heard the story with 
his usual patience, though he was wearied out with in- 
cessant calls, and anxious for rest, and then replied : 

" ' Some of our Generals complain that I impair disci- 
pline and subordination in the array, by my pardons and 
respites, but it makes me rested, after a day's hard work, 
if I can find some good excuse for saving a man's life ; 
and I go to bed happy, as I think how joyous the sign- 
ing of my name will make him and his family and his 
friends.' 

"And with a happy smile, beaming over that care- 
furrowed facC; he signed that name that saved that life. 



266 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

"But Abraham Lincoln was not only a good, and a 
just, and a generous, and a humane man. I could not 
be just to that well-rounded character of his without 
adding that he was also a praying man. He has often 
said that his reliance, in the gloomiest hours, was on his 
God, to whom he appealed in prayer, although he never 
had become a professor of religion. To a clergyman 
who asked him if he loved his Saviour, he replied, and 
he was too truthful for us to doubt the declaration: 

*' ' When I was first inaugurated, I did not love Him ; 
when God took my son, I was greatly impressed, but 
still I did not love him ; but when I stood upon the 
battle-field of Gettysburg, I gave my heart to Christ, and 
I can now say, I do love the Saviour.' 

" Two of my fellow-members, Messrs. Wilson, of Iowa, 
and Casey, of Kentucky, called on him at one of those 
periods when reverses had dispirited the people. Con- 
versing about the prospects of our country, one of them 
said : ' Well, Mr. President, I have faith that Providence 
is with us ; and if the people are but true to the cause, 
all will be right.' Mr. Lincoln gravely replied, with 
deep solemnity in his tone : 

" ' I have a higher faith than yours. I have faith, not 
only that God is with our cause, but that he will control 
the hearts of the people so that they will be faithful to 
it too. 

" The Bible was always in his reception-room. I have 
doubted the report that he read an hour in it every day, 
for he often came direct from his bed to his reception- 
room, so anxious was he to accommodate members who 
had important business, and it would sometimes be two 



Life of Schuyler Co fax, 267 

or three hours before he would playfully say to some 
friend whose turn had come, ' Won't you stay here till 
I get some breakfast ?' But he must have read the 
Bible considerably, for he often quoted it. One day 

that I happened to come in, he said, 'Mr. has just 

been here attacking one of my Cabinet, but I stopped 
him with this text,' and he read from the Proverbs a 
text I had never heard quoted before, as follows : ' Ac- 
cuse not a servant to his master.' 

" You cannot fail to have noticed the solemn and some- 
times almost mournful strain that pervades many of his 
addresses. When he left Springfield, in 1861, to assume 
the Presidency, his farewell words were as follows : 

" ' My Friends : No one in my position can appre- 
ciate the sadness I feel at this parting. To this people 
I owe all that I am. Here I have lived more than a 
quarter of a century ; here my children were born, and 
here one of them lies buried. / hnoiv not how soon I 
shall se^^you again. A duty devolves upon me, which 
is, perhaps, greater than that which has devolved upcn 
any other man since the days of Washington. He never 
would have succeeded except for the aid of Divine 
Providence, upon which he at all times relied. I feel 
that I cannot succeed without the same Divine aid 
which sustained him, and on the same Almighty Being 
I place my reliance for support ; and I hope that you, 
my friends, will ail pray that I may receive that Divine 
assistance, without which I cannot succeed, but with 
which success is certain. Again I bid you an affection- 
ate farewell.' 

" Before that murderous blow closed his eyes in death, 
that ' success' for which he had straggled was assured 
— that ' duty' devolved upon him had been performed. 
But the friends to whom, with ' the sadness he felt at 



268 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

parting,' he bade this ' afifectionate farewell/ can only 
look at the lifeless corpse, now slowly borne to their 
midst. 

" When, in the same month, he raised the national flag 
over Independence Hall, at Philadelphia, he said to the 
assembled tens of thousands : 

" 'It was something in the Declaration of Independence 
giving Liberty, not only to the people of this country, 
but hope to the world for all coming time. It was that 
which gave promise that in due time the weights should 
be lifted from the shoulders of all men, and that all 
should have an equal chance. * * "^ Now, my 
friends, can this country be saved upon that basis ? If 
it can, I will consider myself one of the happiest men 
in the world, if I can help to save it. But if this 
country cannot be saved without giving up that principle, 
I was about to say that I would rather be assassinated upon 
the spot than to surrender it ! I have said nothing but 
what I am willing to live by, and if it be the pleasure 
of Almighty God, to die by.' 

"He seemed, as he thus spoke, to have the dark 
shadow of his violent death before him. But even in 
its presence he declared that he would rather be assas- 
sinated than to surrender a principle; and that while he 
was willing to live by it, yet, if it was God's pleasure, 
he was equally willing to die by it. He was assassinated, 
but his name and principles will live while history exists, 
and the Kepublic endures. 

" So, too, in the conclusion of his first inaugural, he 
appealed in the language of entreaty and peace to those 
who had raised their mailed hands against the life of 
their fatherland : 

"'You can have no conflict without being yourselves 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 269 

tlie aggressors. You can have no oath registered in 
heaven to destroy the Ghovernment, while I have the 
most solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it. 
The mystic cords of memory, stretching from every 
battle-field and patriot-grave to every living heart and 
hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell 
the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely 
they will be, by the better angels of our nature.' 

" In all my literary reading, I have never found a more 
beautiful and touching sentence than the one I have 
quoted. 

" In the funeral exercises in the East Eoom, on the 
19th of April, the very anniversary of the day when 
the blood of murdered Massachusetts soldiers stained 
the stones of the city of Baltimore, Dr. Gurley quoted 
the President's solemn reply to a company of clergymen 
who called on him in one of the darkest hours of the 
war, when, standing where his lifeless remains then 
rested, he replied to them in tones of deep emotion : 

'' ' Gentlemen, my hope of success in this great and 
terrible struggle rests on that immutable foundation, 
the justice and goodness of God. And when events 
are very threatening and prospects very dark, I still 
hope in some way, which man cannot see, all will be 
well in the end, because our cause is just and God is on 
our side.' 

" You cannot have forgotten this impressive invocation 
with which he closed his Proclamation of Emancipation. 

" ' And, upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act 
of justice, warranted by the Constitution and military 
necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of man- 
kind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.' 



270 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

" The solemn words of his last Inaugural sound in my 
ears to-day as I heard them fall from his lips only last 
month, on the steps of the Capitol. There was no ex- 
ultation over his own success, though he was the first 
Northern President who had ever been re-elected. There 
was no bitterness against the men who had filled our land 
with new-made graves, and who were striving to stab 
the nation to its death. There was no confident and 
enthusiastic prediction of the country's triumph. But 
with almost the solemn utterances of one of the Hebrew 
prophets ; as if he felt he was standing, as he was, on 
the verge of his open grave, and addressing his last 
ofiicial words to his countrymen, with his lips touched 
by the finger of Inspiration, he said : 

*"The Almighty has his own purposes. 'Woe unto 
the world because of offences, for it must needs be that 
offences come ; but woe to that man by whom the offence 
cometh.' If we shall suppose that American slavery is 
one of those offences, which in the providence of God 
must needs come, but which having continued through 
his appointed time, he now wills to remove, and that he 
gives to both North and South this terrible war as the 
woe due to those by whom the offence came, shall we 
discern therein any departure from those divine attri- 
butes which the believers in a living God always attrib- 
ute to him ? Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, 
that this mighty scourge of war may soon pass away. 
Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth 
piled by the bondman's two hundred and fifty years of 
unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of 
blood drawn with the lash shall be paid with another 
drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years 
ago, so still it must be said, 'The judgments of the Lord 
are true and righteous altogether.' 

" ' With malice toward none, with charity for all, with 
firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 271 

let us strive to finish the work we are in, to bind up the 
nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne 
the battle, and for his widow and his orphans, to do all 
which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace 
among ourselves and with all nations.' 

" What a portraiture of his own character he uncon- 
sciously draws in this closing paragraph : 

" ' With malice toward none, with charity for all, with 
firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right.' 

" And yet they slew him. 

"As this extraordinary State-paper crossed the Atlantic 
to the Old World, it elicited the most profound interest. 
Mr. Gladstone, himself the most eloquent of English 
statesmen, spoke in the most elevated eulogy of it, say- 
ing that it showed a moral elevation which commanded 
the highest respect, adding, in emphatic language : 

" ' I am taken captive by so striking an utterance as 
this ; for I see in it the efiect of sharp trial, when rightly 
borne, to raise men to a higher level of thought and 
feeling than they could otherwise reach.' 

" And the British Standard declared it— 

^' ' The most remarkable thing of the sort ever pro- 
nounced by any President of the United States from 
its first day lantil now. Its Alpha and Omega is 
Almighty God, the God of Justice and the Father of 
Mercies, who is working out the purposes of his love. 
It is invested with a dignity and pathos which lift it 
high above every thing of the kind, whether in the Old 
World or the New.' 

'' Bear with me further, while I quote one letter, when, 
in the midst of the exciting canvass of last fall, in which 



272 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

he was so deeply interested, during the very week he 
was being denounced in Chicago as scarcely any man 
had ever been denounced before, he shut out the 
thoughts of these cruelly-unjust aspersions, to write in 
this deeply-impressive strain to a Philadelphia lady, 
then resident in England : 

" ' Executive Mansion", 

" ' Washington, Se'pt Qth, 1864. 

"'Eliza B. Gueney — My Esteemed Friend: I have 
never forgotten, probably never shall forget, the very 
impressive occasion, when yourself and friends visited 
me on a Sabbath forenoon, two years ago, nor has your 
kind letter, written nearly a year later, ever been for- 
gotten. 

" ' In all it has been your purpose to strengthen my 
reliance on God. I am much indebted to the good. 
Christian people of the country for their constant 
prayers and consolations, and to no one of them more 
than yourself. The purposes of the Almighty are per- 
fect, and must prevail, though we erring mortals may 
fail to perceive them in advance. 

"* We hoped for a happy termination of this terrible 
war long before this, but God knows best, and has ruled 
otherwise. We shall acknowledge his wisdom and our 
own errors therein. Meanwhile we must work ear- 
nestly in the best light he gives us, trusting that so 
working still conduces to the great end he ordains. 
Surely he intends some great good to follow this mighty 
convulsion, which no mortal could stay. * Your people 
— the Friends — have had, and are having very great 
trials on principles and faith.' " 

" I stop here, in the reading of this letter, to draw your 
attention to the next sentence, which illustrates Mr. 
Lincoln's power in stating facts. He seemed to have 
the ability of taking a great truth; a living principle, or 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 273 

a striking argument, out of all tHe mists that might be 
gathered around it, and placing it before you so vividly 
in a single sentence, that the presentation of it by others 
;would contrast with his, as a picture, flat before your 
eyes, compares with the figures in the same picture 
brought out so palpably and life-like under the binocular 
mystery of the stereoscope. Witness the striking con- 
densation and unanswerable argument of this next 
sentence : 

" ' Opposed to hotli war and oppression, they can only 
practically oppose oppression hy war. In this hard di- 
lemma some have chosen one horn, and some the other. 
For those appealing to me on conscientious grounds, I 
have done, and shall do, the best I can in my own con- 
science and my oath to the law. That you believe this 
I doubt not, and, believing it, I shall still receive, for 
our country and myself, your earnest prayers to our 
Father in Heaven. " ' Your sincere friend, 

"' 'A. Lincoln.' 

"Nor should I forget to mention here that the last act 
of Congress ever signed hj him was one requiring that 
the motto, in which he sincerely believed, ' In God we 
trust,' should hereafter be inscribed upon all our national 
coin. 

*' But April came at last, with all its glorious resarrec- 
tion of spring — that spring which he was not to see 
ripening into summer. The last sands in the hour-glass 
of his life were falling. His last moment drew nigh, 
for his banded assassins, foiled in an attempt to poison 
him last year, (a plot only discovered since detectives 
have been tracking the mysteries of his death,) had re- 
solved, this time, on striking a surer blow. Victory 



274 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

after victory crowned our national armies. A hundred 
captured rebel banners filled the War Department. 
Scores of thousands of rebel soldiers bad surrendered ; 
and all over the Republic the joyous acclaim of millions 
hailed the promised land of Peace. But our beloved 
leader was to enter another land of rest. Thank Heaven , 
though wicked men may kill the body, they cannot kill 
the immortal soul. And if the spirits of the good men 
who have left us are permitted to look back on the land 
they loved in life, it is not presumptuous to believe that 
Washington and Lincoln, from the shining courts above, 
look down to-day, with paternal interest, on the nation 
which, under Providence, the one had founded and the 
other saved, and which will entwine their names together 
in hallowed recollection forever. 

" But, in his last hours, all those affectionate traits of 
character, which I have so inadequately delineated, shone 
out in more than wonted brilliancy. How his kindly 
heart must have throbbed with joy, as, on the very day 
before his death, he gladdened so many tens of thousands 
of anxious minds by ordering the abandonment of the 
impending, but now not needed draft! With what 
generous magnanimity he authorized our heroic Lieu- 
tenant-General to proffer terms unparalleled in their 
liberality, to the Army of Virginia, so long the bulwark 
of the rebellion. And the last official act of his life 
was, when learning by telegraph, that very Friday 
afternoon, that two of the leaders and concocters of the 
rebellion were expected to arrive, disguised, in a few 
hours, at one of our ports, to escape to Europe, he in- 
structed our officers not to arrest them, but let them flee 
the country. He did not wish their blood, but their 
associates thirsted for his, and a few short hours after 



' L^f^ of Schuyler Colfax, 275 

this message of m^rcy to save their friends from death 
sped on the wings of lightning, with wicked hands 
they slew him. No last words of affection to weeping 
wife and children did they allow him. No moment's 
space for prayer to God. But, in order that conscious- 
ness might end with the instant, the pistol was held 
close to the skull, that the bullet might be buried in 
his brain. 

" And thus, though the President is slain, the nation 
lives. The statesman, who has so successfully conducted 
our foreign correspondence, as to save us from threat- 
ened and endangering complications and difficulties 
abroad, and who, with the President, leaned ever to 
mercy's side, so brutally bowie-knifed as he lay helpless 
on his bed of anguish, is happily to be spared ; and 
the conspiracy which intended a bloody harvest of six 
patriots' lives, reaped, with its murderous sickle, but 
one. 

"But that one — how dear to all our hearts — how price- 
less in its worth, how transparent and spotless its purity 
of character! In the fiery trial to which the nation has 
been subjected, we have given of the bravest and the 
best of the land. The South is filled with the graves 
where sleep the patriot martyrs of constitutional liberty 
till the resurrection morn. The vacant chair at the 
table of thousands upon thousands tells of those, who, 
inspired by the sublimest spirit of self-sacrifice, have 
died that the Republic might survive. Golden and 
living treasures have been heaped up upon our country's 
altar. But, after all these costly sacrifices had been 
offered, and the end seemed almost at hand, a costlier 
sacrifice had to be made ; and from the highest place in 
all the land the victim came. Slaughtered at the 



276 J^ifs of Schuyler Colfax, 

moment of victory, tlie blow was too late to rob Mm of 
the grand place he has won for himself in history : 

*' ' We know him now. All narrow jealousies 
Are silent. And we see him as he moved, 
How modest, kindly, all compassionate, wise, 
With what sublime repression of himself, 
And in what limits and how tenderly. 
Whose glory was redressing human wrongs, 
Not making his high place the lawless perch 
Of winged ambition, nor a vantage ground 
Of pleasure. But, through all this tract of years, 
Wearing the white flower of a blameless life.' 

"Murdered, cofiined, buried, he will live with those few 
immortal names which were not born to die ; live, as the 
Father of the Faithful in the times that tried men's 
souls ; live in the grateful hearts of the dark-browed race 
he lifted from under the heel of the oppressor to the 
dignity of freedom and of manhood; live in every 
bereaved circle which has given father, husband, son or 
friend to die, as he did, for his country ; live, with the 
glorious company of martyrs to liberty, justice and 
humanity, that trio of heaven-born principles ; live in 
the love of all beneath the circuit of the sun, who loathe 
tyranny, slavery, and wrong. And, leaving behind him 
a record that shows how honesty and principle lifted 
him, self-made as he was, from the humblest ranks of 
the people to the noblest station on the globe, and a 
name that shall brighten under the eye of posterity as 
the ages roll by, 

" ' From the top of fame's ladder he stepped to the sky.' " 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 277 



CHAPTER XXV. 



OF THE WEST — THE OVERLAND JOURNEY — VISIT AT 
SALT LAKE CITY — PLAIN TALKING WITH BRIGHAM 
YOUNG — SPEECH AT SALT LAKE CITY. 

The terribly sad event of President Lincoln's assas- 
sination caused Mr. Colfax to commit to writing the 
message with which he had been intrusted by Mr. Lin- 
coln for the miners of the West. The following was the 

message : 



" I have," said he, '' very large ideas of the mineral 
wealth of our nation. I believe it practically inex- 
haustible. It abounds all over the Western country from 
the Eocky Mountains to the Pacific, and its development 
has scarcely commenced. During the war, when we were 
adding a couple of millions of dollars every day to our 
national debt, I did not care about encourag^ing: the in- 
crease in the volumes of our precious metals. We bad 
the country to save first. But now that the rebellion 
is overthrown, and we know pretty nearly the amount 
of our national debt, the more gold and silver we mine, 
makes the payment of that debt so much the easier. 
Now," said he, speaking with much emphasis, "I am 
going to encourage that in every possible way. We 
shall have hundreds of thousands of disbanded soldiers, 
and many have feared that their return home in such 
great numbers might paralyze industry by furnishing 
suddenly a greater supply of labor than there will be 
demand for. I am going to try to attract them to the 
hidden wealth of our mountain ranges where there is 
room enough for all. Immigration, which even the war 
has not stopped, will land upon our shores hundreds of 
thousands more per year from over-crowded Euiope. I 

n 



278 Life of S-chuyler Colfax. 

intend to point them to the gold and silver that waits 
for them in the West. Tell the miners, from me, that I 
shall promote their interests to the utmost of mj ability, 
because their prosperity is the prosperity of the nation ; 
and," said he, his eye kindling with enthusiasm, ''we 
shall prove in a very few years that we are indeed the 



Faithfully was the message repeated to the miners in 
the cities and mountains of Colorado, Nevada and Cali- 
fornia with lips that were eloquent of the martyred 
President, of the heroism of the army and navy, and of 
the future of the country. After four months of travel, 
having passed across the continent and through Cali- 
fornia, Oregon and Washington territory, and having 
also visited the Queen's dominions, where they come 
down to the Pacific upon the extreme northwest of our 
territory, Mr. Colfax returned home by way of Panama 
and New York. The invitation to make this journey to 
the far West had been made as a public recognition of 
his services in securing the Overland Mail and Tele- 
graph. Many personal friends in the territories of the 
Kocky Mountains and the States of the Pacific hailed it 
with delight. President Lincoln's interest in it pointed 
public attention to it. The companions of Mr. Colfax 
were Mr. Bowles, of the S'pringfield Bepuhliccm, Massa- 
chusetts; Mr. Eichardson, correspondent of the New 
York Tribune] and Lt.-Governor Bross, of the Chicago 
Tribune. The companionship of these journalists, the 
public position of Mr. Colfax, his reputation and per- 
sonal popularity, and the fact that he was on a tour of 
exploration as well as of pleasure, made the journey one 
that was almost like a public mission. It was a con- 
tinual ovation. The speeches that Mr. Colfax made 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 279 

would more than fill a volume. While they were so nu- 
merous, his critical editorial comrades have borne ample 
testimony that they were ever fresh, able, and varied, and 
heard with delight and enthusiasm. Mr. Bowles, in his 
book, " Across the Continent," has given a pleasing nar- 
rative of the incidents of the trip and a panorama of the 
way. Many thousands of delighted hearers in cities and 
villages, East and West, have listened to the lecture of 
Mr. Colfax on the same theme ; a lecture repeated many 
times in different parts of the country, though not so 
many by some hundreds as there were requests for its 
delivery. 

In the beginning of his Congressional career, Mr. 
Colfax had taken as decided a stand against the polyg- 
amy of Utah as he had against the introduction of 
slavery into Kansas. During his Congressional life, as 
occasion had demanded, he had reiterated his views. In 
1865, when a visitor at Salt Lake City, returning the 
call made by Brigham Young upon himself and party, 
in the chief Mormon's own home, Mr. Colfax was as 
clear and distinct and outspoken in his opposition to 
polygamy as upon the stump in his own district or upon 
the floor of Congress. When Brigham Young, after 
arguing in behalf of their system of plurality of wives, 
stating that the Mormons had adopted it in consequence 
of a revelation from heaven, and not because of their 
desire for it, asked Mr. Colfax how he expected it would 
be done away ; Mr. Colfax promptly replied : We ex- 
pect you to have a new revelation prohibiting it. Or 
there may be another solution, said Mr. Colfax. You 
may do away with it by your own voluntary action, 
legally, peacefully, just as Missouri and Maryland 
abolished slavery. 



28o Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

The following extracts from a speech by Mr. Colfax 
in Salt Lake City, show with what wisdom, as a states- 
man, and with what frankness and fairness as a man he 
dealt with the people. He exhibits to them the advan- 
tages which a paternal Government will yield them, to 
which they are also entitled as rights; but also shows 
them the duties they are bound to yield to the Govern- 
ment, and upon the performance of which their rights 
are contingent : 

"It happened to be my fortune in Congress to do a 
little towards increasing the postal facilities in the West, 
not so much as I desired, but as much as I could obtain 
from Congress. And when it was proposed, to the 
astonishment of my fellow-members, that there should 
be a daily mail run across these pathless plains and 
mighty mountains, through the wilderness of the West to 
the Pacific, with the pathway lined with our enemies, 
the savages of the forest, and where the luxuries and 
even the necessaries of life in some parts of the route 
are unknown, the project was not considered possible ; 
and then, when in my position as Chairman of the Post 
Ofiice Committee, I proposed that we should vote a mil- 
lion of dollars a-year to put that mail across the con- 
tinent, members came to me and said : ' You will ruin 
yourself.' They thought it was monstrous, an unjust 
and extravagant expenditure. Though I knew little of 
the West then, compared to what I have learned in the 
few weeks of this trip, I said to them: *The people 
along the line of that route have a right to demand 
it at your hands, and in their behalf I demand it.' 
(Cheers.) Finally, the bill was coaxed through, and 
you have a daily mail punning through here with almost 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 281 

the regularity of clock-work. You had a right to de- 
mand that. You had a right to demand, as the Eastern 
portion of this Republic had telegraphic communication 
speeding the messages of life and death, of pleasure and 
of traffic, that the same way for you should be opened 
up by that frail wire, the conductor of Jove's thunder- 
bolts, tamed down for the use of man. Therefore, it fell 
to my fortune to demand it also for you. I would not 
allude to these things, but the chairman of your commit- 
tee alluded to them yesterday morning, as one reason, 
though differing, as I know you do, from me in many 
respects, why you had seen fit to extend this compliment. 
But, to resume, I insisted that there should be this wire 
across this continent. No one was willing to undertake 
the matter unless the Government aided. I proposed 
that we should pay a subsidy. It was easy to pass it in 
the Senate, but in the House of Representatives it was 
more difficult, as there are more conflicting interests 
and closer division of parties hostile to each other. 
When I proposed that we should pay forty thousand dol- 
lars a year, men were amazed at it ; however, we finally 
carried that through, and not a man in all the land regrets 
it to-day. There was another great interest you had a 
right to demand. Instead of the slow, toilsome and ex- 
pensive manner in which you freight your goods and 
hardware to this distant territory, you should have a 
speedy transit between the Missouri valley and this 
intra-montane basin in which you live. Instead of pay- 
ing two or three prices — sometimes overrunning the 
cost of the article — you should have a railroad commu- 
nication, and California demanded this. (Cheers.) I 
said, as did many others in Congress, ' This is a great 
national enterprise; we must bind the Atlantic and 



2 82 Life of Schuyler Co fax. 

Pacific States together by bands of iron ; we must send 
the iron-horse through all these valleys and mountains 
of the interior, and when thus interlaced together we 
shall be a more compact and homogeneous Republic' 
And the Pacific Railroad Bill passed. This great work 
of uniting three thousand miles, from shore to shore, is 
to be consummated, and we hail the day of peace, be- 
cause with peace we can do many things as a nation 
that we cannot do in war. This railroad is to be built, 
the company is to build it ; if they do not the Govern- 
ment will. It shall be put through soon, not toilsomely, 
slowly as a far-distant event, but as an event of the de- 
cade in which we live. (Cheers.) 

"All these are matters that you have a right to demand 
of the national Congress. (A voice, 'and what of the 
State ?') A gentleman suggests about the State. I will 
answer very frankly about the State. The Constitution 
says : * Congress may admit new States,' it does not say 
Congress shall admit them, and Congress does as it . 
pleases ; and the tie vote of the Speaker is very rarely 
called for or needed to adopt or reject. I might speak 
more fully on this point, but I do not come here to dis- 
cuss controverted matters. I will not speak to you with 
a forked or double tongue to-night, for the life of a 
public man is such that it is open in all its pages before 
the world. You know whether I have sought to advance 
your interests. If I have not in the past, I could not 
convince you by profession to-night. I have told you 
what you have a right to demand of your Government, 
and all the people of this broad land have jDrecisely the 
same rights as you. And now, what has the Govern- 
ment a right to demand of you? It is not that which 
Napoleon exacts from his oiliccrs in France — which is 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 283 

' allegiance to the Constitution and fidelity to the Em- 
peror.' Thank God we have no Emperor nor despot in 
this country, throned or unthroned. (Cheers.) Here, 
every man has the right, himself, to exercise his elective 
suffrage as he sees fit, none molesting him or making 
him afraid. And the duty of every American citizen 
is condensed in a single sentence, as I said to your com- 
mittee yesterday — not in allegiance to an Emperor, hut 
allegiance to the Constitution, obedience to the laws^ and 
devotion to the Union, (Cheers.) When you live up to 
that standard you have the right to demand protection ; 
and were you three times three thousand miles from the 
national Capital, wherever the starry banner of the 
Eepublic waves and a man stands under it, if his rights 
of life, liberty and property are assailed, and he has 
rendered this allegiance to his country, it is the duty of 
the Government to reach out its arm, if it take a score 
of regiments, to protect and uphold him in his rights." 



CHAPTEH XXVI. 

EETURN" OF MR. COLFAX — MANY ALARMED AT INDICA- 
TIONS OF CHANGE IN PRESIDENT JOHNSON — MR. COL- 
FAX IN THE QUIET OF HIS HOME DETERMINES HIS 
DUTY — SERENADE SPEECH AT WASHINGTON — THE 
PRESIDENT NOT PLEASED — MR. COLFAX RE-ELECTED 
SPEAKER — INAUGURAL — PRESIDES AT FINAL ANNI- 
VERSARY OF UNITED STATES CHRISTIAN COMMISSION. 

When Mr. Colfax set out upon his overland journey 
he thought it very probable that a special session of the 



284 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

Thirty-nintli Congress might be called on account of the 
emergencies aiising from reconstruction. He therefore 
kept himself always within reach of the telegraph, so 
that if there was need he could speedily be at the post 
of duty. No extra session of Congress, however, was 
called. When he returned home he found that Presi- 
dent Johnson was losing the confidence of many in the 
party which had elected him. Mr. Colfax was impor- 
tuned to come to Washington; but he preferred, in 
the quiet of his own home, to consider the state of the 
country, and determine upon that course which in his 
judgment would be right. Shortly before the organi- 
zation of Congress he went to Washington. A large 
crowd of friends repaired to his quarters and compli- 
mented him with a serenade. In response to earnest 
calls he addressed them upon the principles of recon- 
struction, insisting that, in addition to Mr. Johnson's 
requirements from the South, Congress should, by legis- 
lation, demand additional and irreversible guarantees, 
both for the protection of the freedmen and the preser- 
vation of the Union from another rebellion. This was 
the first speech of any Congressman taking issue with 
the President's " policy," and Mr. Johnson has always 
denounced it as the initiation of the Congressional policy 
which antagonized his, but which the people have so 
signally indorsed and approved. 

The next day Mr. Colfax called upon President John- 
son ; the President was not at all pleased with the speech, 
and was sorry that Mr. Colfax had not consulted with 
him before speaking to the assembling Congress and the 
country upon the important subject of reconstruction. 
Mr. Colfax's reply, in substance, was, that surely the Pres- 
ident could have no respect for him, if he did not utter 
the honest convictions of his heart. 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 285 

The Thirty-ninth Congress was organizea by the re- 
election of Mr. Colfax as Speaker ; he receiving one 
hundred and thirty-nine votes, and Mr. Brooks, of ISTew 
York, thirty-six. 

The Speaker delivered the following address : 

''Gentlemen of the House op Eepresbntatives : 
The re-assembling of Congress, marking, as it does, the 
procession of our national history, is always regarded 
with interest by the people for whom it is to legislate, 
but it is not unsafe to say that millions more than ever 
before, North, South, East and West, are looking to the 
Congress which opens its first session to-day, with an 
earnestness and solicitude unequalled on similar occa- 
sions in the past. The Thirty-eighth Congress closed 
its constitutional existence with the storm-cloud of war 
still over us, and after a nine months' absence Congress 
resumes its legislative authority in these council halls, 
rejoicing that from shore to shore in our land there is 
peace. 

" Its duties are as obvious as the sun's pathway in the 
heavens. Eepresentirjg in its two branches the States 
and the People, its first and highest obligation is to 
guarantee to every State a republican form of govern- 
ment. The rebellion having overthrown the constitu- 
tional State governments in many States, it is your 
duty to mature and enact legislation which, with the 
concurrence of such a basis of enduring justice as will 
guarantee all necessary safeguards to the people, will 
afford what our Magna Charta, the Declaration of In- 
dependence, proclaims the chief object of government, 
protection to all men in their alienable rights. (Ap- 
plause.) The world should witness in this greajb work 



a 86 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

the most inflexible fidelity, tlie most earnest devotion to 
the principles of liberty and humanity, the truest patriot- 
ism, and the wisest statesmanship. Men, by the hun- 
dreds of thousands, have died that the Republic might 
live. The emblem of mourning darkened the White 
House and the cabin alike, but the fires of civil war 
have melted every fetter in the land, and proved the 
funeral pyre of slavery. 

" It is for you, Representatives, to do your work as faith- 
fully and as well as did the fearless saviours of the Union 
in their more dangerous arenas of duty. Then we may 
hope to see the vacant and once abandoned seats around 
us gradually filling up, until this hall shall contain Rep- 
resentatives from every State and district, their hearts 
devoted to the Union for which they are to legislate ; 
jealous of its honor, proud of its glory, watchful of its 
rights and hostile to its enemies. The stars on our 
banners that paled when the States they represented 
arrayed themselves in arms against the nation, will 
then shine with a more brilliant light of loyalty than 
ever before. (Applause.) 

"Invoking the guidance of Him who holds the des- 
tiny of nations in the hollow of His hand, I enter again 
upon the duties of this trying position with a heart filled 
with gratitude for the unusually flattering manner in 
which it has been bestowed, and cheered by the hope 
that it betokens your cordial support and assistance in 
all its grave responsibilities. I am now ready to take 
the oath of of&ce prescribed by law." 

The soldiers never had a better friend than Mr. Colfax. 
The sympathies of his heart, his means, and his labors, 
were given to them without stint. Pleading the cause 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 287 

of the Cliristian and Sanitary Commissions, he had been 
their frequent and eloquent advocate before the public. 

Upon the 11th of February, 1868, the United States 
Christian Commission held its final anniversary at 
Washington, in the Hall of the House of Kepresenta- 
tives. Mr. Colfax was called to preside. Upon taking 
the chair, he made the following brief address : 

" Ladies and Gentlemen : The fearful trial to which 
our Eepublic was subjected for the preservation of its 
existence is over. The loved and lost, who died that 
the nation might live, sleep in their bloody shrouds in 
village churchyards, on innumerable battle-fields, near 
prison camps, alas, too, in unmarked graves, but all 
enshrined with the sainted dead of the revolution in 
millions of hearts forevermore. The yet vacant chair 
at many a lonely hearthstone tells the silent story of 
sacrifices such as the world has never rivalled before. 
But the gates of our temple of Janus are closed. From 
the battle-line, which swept across our country thou- 
sands of miles from Gettysburg to the boundaries of the 
Mexican Republic, the bannered hosts have returned to 
their waiting homes, volunteers transformed by the shock 
of arms into veterans, and hailed as the saviours of the 
Union. The sword is exchanged for the ploughshare, 
and the great Eebellion, organized on broken oaths, and 
culminating in the murder of the nation's chief, with the 
great Uprising which so patriotically confronted it, and 
the great Victory, which crushed it, have passed into his- 
tory, which Cicero tells us is ' the evidence of ages, the 
light of memory, and the school of life !' 

" It is under these auspicious circumstances that this 
Organization, inspired from that Throne whence flow all 
good impulses, which, like a handmaiden of mer-cy, went 
forth with our armies t<^ succor and to save, returns to- 



283 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

night to this Eepresentative-hall to render a final account 
of its stewardship. Of its thousands of active and wil- 
ling co-laborerS; and its millions of expenditure, you will 
hear from abler tongues than mine. From all quarters 
of the nation, from church-altar, and family circle, 
from merchants and manufacturers, from mechanics and 
miners, from the tillers of the earth and the sailors on 
the sea, from crowded cities and humble cabins, from 
the munificent donations of the wealthy to the widows' 
mite, came the material aid, which poured its mighty 
volume into the coffers of the Christian Commission. 
And its agents, thus endowed with the unstinted gifts of 
patriotic benevolence, and clad in the armor of a nation's 
sympathy, went forth to win the glorious victories they 
so gloriously achieved — victories over sufferings, vic- 
tories over disease, victories over death itself, from whose 
icy grasp they rescued so many thousands by their more 
than Samaritan ministrations. To the battle-field they 
came, to snatch our brave defenders from under the guns 
of the enemy, where they had fallen. To the hospital 
they came, to minister in the place of the beloved wife 
and mother, so far away, and to pour oil, if possible, into 
the expiring lamp of life. To the death-bed of the de- 
parting hero they came, to smooth his pathway to the 
tomb and to point him to the better land, where he 
should live a life that would never die. 

" Kesting from their labors of love, now that the vic- 
torious ensign of the Republic waves over the entire 
land, and our Constitution has become the New Testa- 
ment of our freedom, they rejoice with all who rejoice 
over a country saved for its brilliant destiny hereafter, in 
that noble sentiment, deeper, profounder in its significance 
to-day than when first uttered in this Capitol, 'Liberty 
and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable !' " 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 289 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

BREACH BETWEEN THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS — THE 
CIVIL RIGHTS BILL PASSED OVER THE PRESIDENT'S 
VETO — SERENADE SPEECH OF MR. COLFAX ON THAT 
OCCASION. 

Upon the reading of the message of the President at 
the opening of the Thirty-ninth Congress, it was evident 
beyond all peradventure that the President was opposed 
in the reconstruction of the Government to the leaders 
of the Republican party, and at variance with his own 
previously expressed principles. The breach between 
the President and Congress widened continually. The 
President removing the provisional Governor of Ala- 
bama, and handing the State government over to officers 
elected by the people, virtually denied the authority of 
Congress over the reconstruction of the rebel States. 
The Freedmen's Bureau Bill, which had been passed by 
a large majority in Congress, was vetoed by him. The 
veto message gave evidence that the President was 
willing that those who, through four years of dreadful 
war, had sought to destroy the country, should have an 
equal voice with loyal men in determining the terms of 
its reconstruction. The President also vetoed the Civil 
Rights Bill. This bill had been prepared with great 
care. It seemed to the Republican party to be essential 
for the preservation of the results gained by the war. 
A majority of more than the requisite two-thirds passed 
this bill over the President's veto, and placed it among 
tlie statutes of the land. There was great rejoicing 



'2^0 Life of Schuyler Co fax, 

among the Eepublicans at this result. The citizens of 
Indiana, in honor of the event, serenaded Mr. Colfax, 
who, in acknowledging the compliment, made the fol- 
lowing address to them: 

SERENADE SPEECH. 

*'I have no doubt that you, like myself, rejoice with 
exceeding great joy, and are prouder to-day of being 
citizens of this great country than ever before. There 
was a time in this land of ours when slavery was regarded 
as the corner-stone of American institutions. Thank 
God, that time has passed, and we build henceforth on 
a foundation of liberty. To-day, under the legislation of 
the American Congress, in this Republic, washed by the 
waters of the two great oceans of the globe, there is 
no person, rich or poor, high or humble, learned or 
unlearned, who does not live in security under the 
protection of equal laws. I am prouder to-day, also, of 
the ^reat Union organization of which I have been a 
meniber than ever before. Its history is nobly written 
in the history of our country. Admanistrations, and 
Congresses, and parties may pass away, but the record 
which this party has made will shine with more bril- 
liancy on our country's pages than any others in the 
annals of our history. When the great rebellion broke 
out, and when our ship of state rocked in a fearful storm, 
and was threatened by a terrible mutiny, the Union 
organization stood unflinchingly by our noble President, 
the martyred Lincoln, in his determination to crush the 
conspiracy and preserve the Government intact ; and 
when it prophesied to us, that the rebellion could not 
'be subjugated, the Union-loving people of the coun- 
try, forming into a mighty phalanx, determined that it 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 29 1 

should be. The patriotic enactments of this great party 
are imperishable. In 1862 the Capital was disgraced by 
slavery ; but they determined that henceforth it should 
be free, and with unwavering fidelity to principle they 
placed upon the statute-book that law which never can 
be and never shall be repealed, that in this Capital there 
should be no slave. In 1863 our noble and true- 
hearted President issued his Proclamation of Emancipa- 
tion, striking with the sword of the Union that powerful 
element of rebel strength, and the Union party stood 
by him, determined to give that proclamation vitality, 
carrying it successfully in the great campaign of 1864. 
When the Constitutional amendment was proposed in 
Congress banishing slavery, as an uuclean thing, forever 
from the country, and declaring that henceforth and 'for- 
ever it should be the home of the free, that noble organiza- 
tion again united and rallied to its support, and placed 
that amendment on the statute-book. Again, in this year 
of 1866, in the Senate chamber and in the Representa- 
tive-hall, they have placed by overwhelming majorities 
the Civil Rights Bill on your statute-book, which de- 
clares that every one born on American soil, and all 
who come here from abroad, and are naturalized in our 
courts, shall have a birthright as an American citizen. 
That law, misrepresented as it has been by its opponents 
in Congress, will never be repealed; and in the j^ears 
that are to come it will be the proudest recollection and 
the crowning honor of those men, who stood up in the 
national councils, that they gave to such truly American 
legislation their cordial support. For why should there 
be objections to a law like that ? 

" Every one born on the soil of the Republic owes to 
it allegiance ; and is it not then the reciprocal duty of the 



292 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

Eepublic to give to him its protection? Henceforth, 
whenever in this land a person shall be oppressed or 
outraged, or his rights withheld ; whenever ' tyranny 
may shake his sceptre over him,' he has but to turn to 
the national flag and to the national Government for that 
protection which the Congress of the United States has 
ordained is his right. We are sometimes asked — and T 
know with what solicitude the American people regard 
it — why the work of reconstruction has been delayed. 
I do not think it has been unreasonably delayed. The 
President of the United States, in the eight months 
between the collapse of the rebellion and the opening of 
Congress, was engaged in the work of that policy, which 
seemed to him the most fitting, and Congress has been 
engaged for the past four months in collecting testimony, 
in comparing opinions, and in proposing action to lay 
the foundation of a reconstruction, which shall make our 
Union eternal as the ages. But they have already in 
past years initiated a policy of reconstruction. In 1862 
they placed upon the statute-book the first law indi- 
cating their policy of reconstruction, the law known as 
the test oath, declaring that no man should be eligible 
to office, who could not swear that he had not volunta- 
rily given aid and comfort to bloody conspiracy and 
treason. That law was well understood by the Ameri- 
can people South as well as North. No one expected 
that then, when the rebellion had its armies in the field 
against the Union, any one would come knocking at the 
door of Congress, claiming to represent the States of 
Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South or North Carolina, 
Florida or Texas. But it was believed when the rebel- 
lion should end, the men who had insultingly turned 
their backs on Congress and spurned their seats, who 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. Q93 

had killed the Union defenders and souglit to capture 
this Capital, wonld, with the assurance of old times, de- 
mand that they should govern the country which they 
had ineffectually attempted to ruin. That test oath was 
placed there, as the flaming sword at the garden of Eden, 
to warn such men that until there were fruits meet for 
repentance, or bonds for future good behavior, there was 
no place in these precincts for them. Again, the policy 
of reconstruction was indicated by Congress in the winter 
of 1864, when it passed nearly unanimously, and with- 
out the yeas and nays, a joint resolution that the Vice- 
President, in counting the Presidential votes, should 
not count the electoral votes of any State that had been 
engaged in the rebellion. That was intended to proclaim 
that until Congress removed their disqualifications by 
laws restoring them to their rights, they should stand 
back. Congress has, therefore, by these two striking 
enactments, indicated its policy of reconstruction. But 
the Constitution shows, in still plainer language, where 
the responsibility of reconstruction rests. It has declared 
that every State shall be guaranteed a republican form 
of government ; and in a subsequent section, it declares 
that Congress shall have power to make all laws neces- 
sary and proper to carry into execution all the powers 
vested in it, or in any department or officer of the Gov- 
ernment. This was intended to declare that Congrccs is 
the only law-making power of this land ; and by the 
Constitution, to Congress and Congress alone, all must 
look for legal reconstruction. The President of the 
United States, in his proclamation last May, appointing 
provisional Governors, declared that the States which 
had been in rebellion were without civil government. 
That was a fact as apparent as the stars when they shine 



294 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

in the heavens. My regret is, for I must speak frankly, 
that Congress was not at that time called together. I 
believe it would have hastened the work of reconstruo- 
tion, I believe that Congress, and the President, by his 
approval .of their legislation, would have united last 
summer on a policy of reconstruction which would have 
been acceptable to both branches of the Government, 
and in^ which the South, seeing this concurrent action, 
would have acquiesced. The Constitution of the United 
States declares that the President, on extraordinary oc- 
casions, may convene Congress. It has seemed to me 
that last April was an. extraordinary occasion. The 
President had been murdered by a rebel conspirator, and 
the Yice- President had assumed the Presidential func- 
tions ; the rebellion had seen its flag trampled in the dust 
and its armies surrendered. It has seemed to me that, if 
there ever was an ' extraordinary occasion,' this was one. 
But the President — and I recognize his full Constitutional 
authority to decide the question — deemed that it was not 
expedient to call Congress together, and went on him- 
self with the work of reconstruction. I believe that he 
entered upon and proceeded with that work at ike 
outset^ intending it as an experiment that it would 
be best to test before Congress reassembled. I am 
confirmed in that belief by the messages which he sent 
to the Governors of Florida and Mississippi, stating that 
the restoration of their States would depend upon Con- 
gress; but I do not think it resulted in developing 
loyalty at the South. Congress at last convened on the 
first Monday of December last. It could, not convene 
earlier, for it had no power to meet until its regular 
session, unless convened by the President. It appointed 
a committee to examine into the condition of the late 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 295 

Confederate States, and it was only one short montli ago 
they received official documents from the Executive 
Departments, which enabled them to know what trans- 
pired during the long recess of Congress, and now it is 
able to act intelligently, with some official knowledge 
of the situation, 

" You will ask, perhaps, what is my policy of recon- 
struction. I will tell you in a few words. It is the 
policy of reconstruction laid down by Andrew Johnson 
with such emphasis and earnestness in his speeches made 
to the public between the month of June, 1864:, and the 
month of May, 1865. Whatever may be the change in 
his views now, they showed his construction then of the 
Baltimore platform; his radical speeches in Tennessee 
were indorsed by his election, and I stand by those 
declarations. They can be condensed into one single 
sentence, and that is, ' Loyal men shall govern a pre- 
served Kepublic' " 



CHAPTEE XXVIII. 

LETTER OF MR. COLFAX, JULY, 1866, TO CONVENTION OF 
NINTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF INDIANA — HIS RE- 
NOMINATION — RECEPTION AT HOME — RE-ELECTION — 
RESPONSE AT WASHINGTON TO THE WELCOME BACK 
GIVEN TO THE THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS. 

Upon the adjournment of Congress in July, the con- 
test between the President and Congress was continued 



296 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

before the people. The election for members of the 
Fortieth Congress was pending. Mr. Colfax wrote the 
following letter to the nominating convention of his 
district : 

" House of Eepbesen-tatives, 

" Washington, July % 1866. 

" Dear Sirs : The harmony and success of the Union 
organization, welded together in the furnace-fire of a 
four years' war, is of such paramount importance to all 
other considerations, that I write you this letter to be 
read at the Westville Convention, that my position may 
be unmistakably understood by those who have honored 
me with their confidence so cordially and so long. 

"Last winter, when my name had been suggested by 
several papers in various parts of the State for the 
Senate, I published a card, stating that I was not, and 
never had been, a candidate for that distinguished posi- 
tion, having always preferred service in the House. But 
my name must not be in the way a single moment, if 
any considerable portion of the Convention prefer some 
other standard bearer, even though that portion should 
be a minority. In that event, the delegation from St. 
Joseph county are requested to withdraw my name, and 
to pledge my most earnest exertions to whoever of the 
many active and faithful friends of the Union cause the 
Convention may prefer to nominate. 

'' The contest before us is of as*vital importance to 
the truest and best interests of the nation as the exciting 
contests of 1862 and 1864; and the issues should be 
clearly and distinctly before the people. They can be 
condensed into a single question, ' Which shall govern 
in the councils of the nation, loyalty or disloyalty .^' It has 



Life of Schuyler Co fax. 297 

been well said, in language as terse as it is true, that 
the power to carry on war for national existence carries 
with it the power to prescribe the terms of peace. The 
duty of guarding the land against the danger of a second 
rebellion is as imperative as its preservation from the 
first. And nothing seems clearer than that the same 
authority which prevented eleven States from destroying 
the Union, has a right, as indisputable as the right of 
self defence, to regulate the resumption of the relations 
of these States. 

" When the rebel armies surrendered, the President 
decided, and rightly, that civil government had been 
destroyed in each of the rebel States^ and he ofl&cially 
proclaimed that fact in his commissions to provisional 
Governors thereof. The Congressional policy starts 
from the same initial point. The President declared 
that essential conditions, involving great changes, must 
be complied with by those States before they could 
resume their forfeited rights. And so does Congress. 
The President required the ratification of an important 
Constitutional amendment, which had been submitted 
by a Congress representing the loyal States, and in which 
the rebel States had no voice. And Congress makes a 
similar demand to-day. If the President could rightfully 
require their ratification of one amendment, changing 
their whole system of labor, and destroying what they 
regarded as vested rights of property, proposed by a 
Congress in which they were unrepresented, and in 
conflict, as it was, with their life-long prejudices, why 
cannot the Congress, elected as the law-making power 
of the country by the same voters as himself, require 
the ratification of another amendment, preventing the 
rebel States from wielding increased power in Congress 



298 hife of Schuyler Colfax, 

hereafter, because of the war, which, against their de- 
sires, had lifted their slaves into the full stature of 
freemen ? 

"That this amendment is in accordance with the 
wishes of the loyal millions who won the brilliant polit- 
ical victory of 1864, is proven by the unanimity with 
which it was supported in the House of Kepresentatives. 
Every man, elected as a Union member, whether from 
the North or the South, from the East or the West, gave 
it his vote ; not barely the two-thirds required by the 
Constitution, but nearly four-fifths. On this amend- 
ment, as a security for the future, the Union party of 
the nation have planted themselves ; and I shall stand 
with them most cordially, vindicating its justice, wisdom, 
and necessity, and willing on it to stand or fall. 

"For one, I do not. doubt the result. Shall rebels 
settle their own terms of coming back to govern us? 
Shall they reascend to enlarged and increased powers, 
using as steps the graves of the Union dead ? Should 
not Congress, whose solemn duty it is to see that the 
Eepublic suffers no evil, pause before the bitter foes of 
yesterday are admitted to the inner sanctuary of the 
nation's life? Ought they not to guard the halls of 
national legislation from being trodden by the feet of 
those who have been murdering the defenders of the 
Union for fidelity to an allegiance they themselves so 
wickedly repudiated ? 

" Every newspaper in the land, North or South, which 
eulogized Jefferson Davis and villified Abraham Lincoln, 
now denounces Congress in the severest terms. Every 
unrepentant rebel and unscrupulous sympathizer joins 
them in their revilings. But T rejoice that it has been 
so faithful, so inflexible, in wh:it it has regarded as the 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 299 

pathway of Duty and of Eight. And it now remains 
for the people, by their indorsement or rejection of its 
proposed Constitutional guarantee, to approve or to con- 
demn those who present it as an indispensable pre- 
requisite to the restoration of the forfeited rights and 
the political power our enemies made such hot haste to 
resign and abjure at the opening of the rebellion. Nor 
are these terms oppressive or unjust. Neve^ has a 
nation, whose existence has been imperilled, and whose 
hundreds of thousands of graves, and thousands of mil- 
lions of debt, attest its gigantic sacrifices, offered more 
lenient conditions to those who conspired for its de- 
struction. Have we forgotten the insulting defiance with 
which their members, sworn like ourselves to the Con- 
stitution and the Union, left their seats here — the per- 
secutions, conscriptions, tyranny, expulsions, and hanging 
by the rebel authorities of all who refused to foreswear 
like themselves, their allegiance to their country and 
their flag — the wilful torture and starvation of scores of 
thousands of our soldiers when prisoners in their hands 
— their unyielding persistency in the parricidal conflict 
till armed rebellion expired, not from change of will, 
but from poverty of resources, and the heroism of the 
loyal boys in blue — the continued existence of this 
hostile feeling as evidenced in their political and social 
proscription of every Southerner who fought for his 
country, the disloyal utterances of their press and pulpit, 
and the election in every rebel State of Governors who 
had served or fought for the rebellion? Despite all 
this. Congress only asks that representation North and 
South shall be based on those eligible to participation 
in political power ; that the civil rights of all persons, 
native born or naturalized shall be maintained ; the 



300 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

national debt and the pension list preserved inviolate ; 
the rebel debt repudiated ; and exclusion from office of 
those who, having once taken and broken an oath of 
fidelity to the nation, could not be trusted in th^ faithful 
fulfilment hereafter of another similar obligation. 

" Contrast this with the course of our fathers towards 
those who, during the revolutionary war, refused to 
fight for the independence of the Colonies. The tories 
of that day insisted that their allegiance and loyalty 
were due to the King, and that they should not be com- 
pelled to transfer them. But the stern patriots who 
founded our Government would tolerate no such argu- 
ment. Determined to create a pure national sentiment, 
they ' made toryism odious,' in every possible way. They 
admitted none of them to seats in the Congress of the 
nation against which they had warred. They allowed 
no floral processions to the graves of the tory dead, nor 
the use of such pretexts for treasonable speeches of eu- 
logy on their ' lost cause.' They suffered no tory papers 
to exist, and scatter their malignant poison over the 
land. They disfranchised and expatriated them. Such 
was the reconstruction policy of our fathers. 

'' Strongly in contrast with this as is the reconstruc- 
tion policy of Congress, so mild and forgiving of the 
blackest of crimes, not for revenge but for defence, 
not for punishment but for justice, our Democratic op- 
ponents have arrayed themselves against it, and the peo- 
ple are to decide the issue. If you would take on board 
as a crew to work your ship those who had just been 
striving to scuttle and destroy it, then it might be be- 
lieved that the American people would throw open the 
doors of their Congress, and intrust appropriations for 
pensions and the public debt, and legislation for all 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 301 

matters of national concern, to those who sought to 
whelm the nation in a common ruin, and who, if thej 
had the power to day, would shatter the Eepublio and 
rebuild their Confederacy. 

"In 1864, when the Democratic Kational Convention 
at Chicago resolved that the war was a failure, and de- 
manded an immediate cessation of hostilities by our 
armies, thus waving the white flag of surrender, Jef- 
ferson Davis, the President of the rebel conspiracy, 
waited and watched for the result with the deepest anx- 
iety. The magnificent uprising of the people destroyed 
his hopes ; and, with the resistless blows of our gallant 
soldiers, his wicked cause went down. Now, in 1866, 
A. H. Stevens, the Yice-President of that treasonable 
organization, proclaims that their hope is in the elec- 
tions of this fall. Again these false hopes must be de- 
stroyed. The rebel States will realize, in the response 
of the loyal millions to the issue, that the determination 
of those who saved the Union from their fierce attacks, 
to have guarantees against another rebellion, is inflex- 
ible. Yielding as they must to these demands, 
which, considering their course, are even more gener- 
ous than just, the Fortieth Congress will witness loyal 
Senators and Eepresentatives in their seats from 
every State. And the Union, thus auspiciously recon- 
structed on the enduring basis of loyalty, universal 
liberty, the elevation of the oppressed, and the right of 
all men, born under our flag, or naturalized in our 
courts, to the equal protection of the law, will commence 
a new career of progress, prosperity and power. 
" Truly yours, 

"Schuyler Colfax." 



302 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

Mr. Colfax was again, for the eighth time, unani- 
mouslj and enthusiastically nominated. He returned 
to his home at South Bend, on Wednesday, August 1st. 
His return was made the occasion of a grand public 
rejoicing by the people of the community in which he 
has lived for thirty years, and who, knowing him 
intimately, are all the more firmly his friends for that 
thorough knowledge. That reception was thus described 
by the Rev. Arthur Edwards, one of the editors ©f 
the Northwestern Christian Advocate^ of Chicago : 

"On last Wednesday, August 1st, 1866, the Hon. 
Speaker Schuyler Colfax reached his home at South 
Bend, Indiana, where he was greeted in good, old- 
fashioned Hoosier style, by earnest, loyal, political, and 
personal friends. These, with heartfelt unanimity,; 
seemed to share a common spirit of enthusiasm. When 
the morning train reached Laporte and South Bend, 
crowds were in waiting. At the depot of the latter 
place were old patriarchs who knew ' our boy Schuyler/ 
middle-aged men whom he had gracefully distanced in 
the race of life, and wondering children, to whom this 
was a holiday, attending carriages, wagons, nondescript 
vehicles of all sorts, flags, banners, and bands playing 
' Home, Sweet Home,' all in waiting to honor the return 
of a distinguished yet simple-hearted citizen. Descend- 
ing from the railway platform, Mr. Colfax was almost 
literally carried in their arms to an adjoining rostrum, 
where, in intense silence, the formal yet sincere and 
touching welcome was pronounced by Judge Wade, 
formerly Colonel of the Seventy-third Indiana Infantry, 
who, during the war, was by Mr. Colfax delivered from 
actual squalid horrors and impending death in Libby 
Prison. 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 303 

" The orator, in substance, thanked Mr. Colfax in the 
name of his fellow-citizens for the honors he in his pub- 
lic life had won for them; in the name of loyal citi- 
zens, who feel that he is a prominent part of the trusty 
bulwark which shields them from public enemies ; and, 
finally, in the name of soldiers who have learned by 
experience that he was patriotically, unselfishly^ con- 
stantly, and unflaggingly devoted to their interests. 

" The speaker closed, and for a moment we trembled 
for the silver-tongued statesman, who hitherto had 
gracefully addressed Presidents and Senates, but whose 
owner's heart seemed jast then more ready to sit down 
and weep upon the threshold of its bereaved home, than 
to dictate the words whose meaning it were far easier to 
feel. But soon the ringing sentences began to flow, and 
the returning guest to feel literally at home. Then the 
shouts, and the procession through the streets, whose 
doors and windows fairly shone with nodding heads 
and bright faces. For once in our life, amid all this 
unostentatious, spontaneous excitement of that pure 
inland town, we discovered a prophet having honor and 
enjoying love ' in his own country.' We would rather 
have that honor and love than the Speakership. Twice 
happy the man who enjoys both at the hands of the 
American Kepublic." 

Upon the afternoon of the day of his return home, he 
opened the canvass of his district in a speech to over 
five thousand people. The following paragraphs will 
give us the spirit of the speech, and what manner of life 
it had pervading its arguments : 

" I say now at the outset, lest any man may misunder- 
stand the long argument I make to-day, if there is any 
voter of this district here to-day who is anxious that his 



304 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

Representative should favor the unconditional admission 
into the councils of the nation of the men who have 
been the murderers of your brothers, your sons, and 
your friends, who plunged this country into all the 
anarchy, the bloodshed, and desolation of civil war, that 
man ought not to vote for me for Representative. 

"The, silent admonitions from the quarter million 
graves of Union dead come to us, never to surrender the 
interests of this great land into the hands of the men 
against whom they warred, and who shot them down. 
It seems to me that argument is useless in a case like 
this. This treason tore from you your husbands, fathers, 
brothers, sons; it tortured them with even fiendish 
cruelty; immured them in the filth of prison pens; 
starved them to skeletons ; consigned them to untimely 
graves ; and yet these men, the leaders of that treason, 
come back to us and clamor about ' their rights.' Every 
religious creed in the civilized world declares three 
things essential to forgiveness for sin : first, repentance, 
hearty and sincere ; second, faith and fidelity to prove 
that repentance ; and, third, good works as an evidence 
of that repentance. When I see these, my arms will 
welcome back these men from the South ; but while I 
see this spirit of hate still existing, and while I see this 
haughty arrogance and impudent, unrepenting disloyalty, 
I say, when we reconstruct, let us build on the immortal 
principles of the Declaration of Independence, on the 
solid granite of indisputable loyalty, rather than the 
treacherous quicksands of unrepentant disloyalty, and 
all will be well." 

Again, with 'his accustomed unwearying labor and 
glowing zeal, Mr. Colfax traversed his district, pleading 
the cause of his country and the loyal Congress against 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 305 

a recreant Executive. Again the old results followed, 
sweeping majorities, and his triumphant re-election; his 
majority in the county of his residence, which, amid all 
the vicissitudes of politics, has always sustained him, 
being greater than ever before, the county becoming the 
banner-county of the district. 

Throughout the country, the loyal Congress was sus- 
tained, and the policy of the President condemned, by 
the ballots of the people. Upon the return of this Con- 
gress to Washington, in December, it was welcomed 
back again with a public reception from its loyal citizens. 
Mr. Colfax made the following response to this welcome 
back to Washington of the Thirty-ninth Congress : 

" Fellow-Citizen's : Only four months have passed 
away since the first session of this Congress closed, and 
the members, whom you now greet with such earnest 
and generous welcome, returned to their homes to render 
an account of their stewardship to the people, and to 
discuss before that tribunal, from which there is no 
rightful appeal, the greatest issues ever submitted. 

"On the battle-field, to which treason invited the nation, 
our defenders, on sea too as well as on shore, had tri- 
umphantly decided that our star-gemmed banner should 
never become the winding sheet of the World's best hopes ; 
but, after their conflicts and their sacrifices, it remained 
for the people at the ballot-box, and the people's Senators 
and Eepresentatives in these halls of legislation, to guard 
the Republic effectually against another rebellion, drench- 
ing the land in blood, and, after this terrible contest for 
national existence, to reconstruct it on such enduring 
principles that posterity would realize to the latest 
syllable of recorded time that our fallen heroes had not 
died in vain. 



3o6 Life of Schuyler Co fax, 

"But four months since we left this Capital ; yet how 
crowded are they with events ! the bloody massacre at 
New Orleans the very week after our adjournment; and 
tlie extraordinary speech of the President at St. Louis, 
palliating the guilt of the murderers and charging its 
grave responsibilities on the Congress of the United 
States ; the two Philadelphia conventions, the one mem- 
orable for the frank acknowledgment, that those who de- 
nounced Congress are really arm-in-arm with the men 
trampling on broken oaths, who had sought to 
destroy the nation's life ; and the other honored by the 
presence of faithful loyalists, who, when the storm of 
treason swept over their States, refused to bow the knee 
to Baal ; the expulsion from oflSce of thousands, trusted 
and commissioned by our martyred President, to whom, 
more than any other equal number of men, the present 
administration is indebted for the power it wields, their 
crime being inflexible fidelity to the principles professed 
by the successful candidate for the Vice-Presidency, in 
the canvass of 1864 ; the hundreds of speeches of the 
Presidential tour throughout the land, and their repub- 
lication in millions of copies from all our prominent 
presses, bringing the issues to the hearthstone of every 
voter; the magnificent response of the people from 
ocean to ocean, condemning the policy of which they had 
heard so much, and attesting their unshaken confidence 
in the Congress, which had stood so fearlessly, faithfully, 
and so immovably in the pathway of duty and of right. 

"Thank God, in this land the people are the only 
rulers. Every two years they resume their sovereignty, 
and, at the ballot-box given to them by the dead 
of the revolution, they make and unmake Congress. 
They rebuke or condemn administrations. They com- 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 307 

inland, and Congress and Presidents must obey. We 
return then to these halls to carry out and enforce this 
decision of the rulers of the nation, the people. No men 
can misunderstand their will. Four points have been 
settled by them beyond all controversy : 

"First: That the work of reconstruction must be in 
the hands of those who have been the friends, not the 
enemies of the nation ; that it must be based upon in- 
disputable loyalty, and that those whose wicked leader- 
ship and guilty repudiation of solemn oaths plunged a 
peaceful country into the bloody conflict of civil war, 
shall not be clothed with power to legislate, for the 
widows and orphans — the kith and kin of the men they 
have slain, in their attempt to slay the nation itself. 

"Secon'd: That the promise of Abraham Lincoln, in 
his immortal proclamation, that the freedom of our 
emancipated millions should be maintained, must be ful- 
filled both in letter and in spirit, and guaranteed beyond 
any power of abridgment in our supreme law ; forbid- 
ding interference by any unfriendly State with the priv- 
ileges and immunities of the liberty granted by the whole 
nation to its people. 

" Third : That no persons shall be disfranchised in 
this Eepublic on account of their race, and yet have 
their numbers counted to confer increased politioal 
power on those disfranchising them. 

"Fourth: That the national debt, the cost of our 
national existence, shall be forever sacred, and that all 
debts or claims growing out of the rebellion, or the 
breaking of fetters that ended it, shall be forever held 
illegal and void. And the people also decreed as their 
desire and will that Congress should enforce this deci- 
sion of theirs by appropriate legislation. 



3o8 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

" Free as these few but vital points were from every 
consideration of revenge or malice, looking only as they 
did to public justice and public safety, and even more 
generous than just, it was certainly to have been ex- 
pected, that if there was in the region, where those who 
had warred against the country so bitterly for years still 
bore sway, any returning love for the Union, any sorrow 
for their crimes, these essential requirements would have 
been assented to promptly ; or, if not promptly, at least 
as soon as the elections had manifested the nation's 
will. But, on the contrary, they are spurned and scorn- 
fully rejected by those who control public opinion and 
wield political power in the South. 

"The recent elections of most conspicuous seces- 
sionists in North Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, etc., 
with their gubernatorial messages, is the defiant reply. 
Eejecting the constitutional amendment, they show that 
they insist upon representation in Congress, and the 
Electoral College, for all the four millions of their former 
slaves, thus ascending to enlarged and increased law- 
making power in consequence of their rebellion ; while 
at the same time they not only disfranchise them, and 
refuse them the right and protection of citizens, but by 
disgraceful laws pretending to regulate labor contracts 
and to punish vagrancy, reduce those whom the nation 
made free to a condition of subserviency and serfdom, 
but little, if any, better than slavery itself. Yet while 
we cannot compel them to approve the constitutional 
amendment, our duty to the nation, to justice, liberty 
and humanity, is none the less ; and, exponents of the 
national will as we are, we cannot avoid that duty. 

" Indeed, we may see in it the finger of Providence. 
Like our fathers, we have in the past few years, ' builded 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 309 

better than we knew.' In the earlier stages of the war, 
how willingly would an overwhelming majority of the 
people have consented to perpetual slavery in the 
Kepublic, if Southern traitors had taken from our lips 
the bloody chalice of cruel war, which they compelled 
us to drain to its very dregs. But God willed otherwise, 
and at last, when every family altar had been crimsoned 
with blood, and every cemetery and church -yard 
crowded with patriot graves, the nation rose to a higher 
plane of duty, and resolved in these halls that slavery 
must die. Then the storm-cloud of war passed away; 
God's smile shone on our banners, victory after victory 
blessed our gallant armies, and the crowning triumph 
was won, that gave salvation to the Union, and freedom 
to the slave. Since then we have been earnestly strug- 
gling for reconstruction, on some enduring and loyal 
foundation. Stumbling-blocks have impeded our pro- 
gress, and at last, when a mikl and magnanimous pro- 
position is made, embodying no confiscations, no banish- 
ments, no penalties of the offended law, we are baffled 
by a hardening of heart against it, as inexplicable as it 
seems irremovable. Does it not seem as if aorain the 
Creator was leading us in his way rather than our own ? 
And as we turn for light, does it not flash upon us, that 
He again requires the nation to conquer its prejudices; 
that, as He, so far above us, has put all human beings 
under an equality before the divine law and called them 
all his own children. He demands that we should put all 
under equality before the human law, so that every 
person in all the region poisoned by the influences of 
slavery and the principles of treason, shall be clothed 
with all the rights necessary for the fullest and surest 
self- protection against tyranny, outrage and wrong, and 
19 



jio Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

not left defenceless to tlie mercy of those who so long 
exhibited no mercy to the Government they sought to 
destroy. 

" The question naturally arises, how can this be done ? 
Surrounded by these able statesmen, returning here as 
tliey do, crowned with an unparalleled popular indorse- 
ment, it might not be fitting to anticipate their argu- 
ments on these vital themes in the session just opening. 
But when the Constitution declares, in its opening sen- 
tence, that ' all legislative powers herein granted, shall 
be vested in a Congress of the United States ;' when it 
solemnly enjoins that the United States shall guarantee 
to every State in this Union a republican form of gov- 
ernment, and when it gives to Congress full authority 
to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper 
for carrying into execution all powers vested by this 
Constitution in the Government of the United States, 
or in any department or officer thereof, the duty and its 
exercise seem to have been specifically anticipated by 
the framers of the Supreme Law. Since President John- 
son declared in May, 1865, that the rebellion had de- 
stroyed all civil government in the rebellious States, 
Congress has recognized none of the governments estab- 
lished there under the authority of military law, except 
the rebel-disfranchising government of the State of 
Tennessee ; and it is for Congress to settle the question, 
under the oaths of its members to support and defend 
the Constitution, whether such provisional and unrecog- 
nized governments, in which those, who have been the 
bitter enemies of the Republic, are dominant in their 
executive, legislative and judicial departments — where 
to have been a soldier of the Union, dead or living, is a 
reproach — where devotion to the lost cause of treason is 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 311 

openly avowed and is the guarantee of popular favor — 
where the colors and the heroes of the rebellion are 
enthusiastically hailed — and where citizenship is refused 
to the only people in their midst, who, as a class, have 
been loyal — are or are not republican forms of govern- 
ment, which it is the duty of the United States to guar- 
antee and protect. Leaving this and kindred questions 
to those, who will so ably discuss them, can we not 
all here say, as loyal and patriotic and justice-loving 
citizens: 

*' ' As for us and for our children, 

The vow which we have given, 
For justice and humanity, 

Is registered in heaven. 
No black laws in our borders, 

No pirate on our strand, 
No traitors in our Congress, 

No slave upon our land.' " 



312 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 



CITAPTEE XXIX. 

ASSEMBLING OF THE FOETIETH CONGRESS — VALEDIC- 
TORY FOR THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS — ELECTED SPEAKER 
OF FORTIETH CONGRESS — INAUGURAL — TESTIMONIALS 
TO MR. COLFAX AS SPEAKER — B. F, TAYLOR — 
*' HISTORY OF THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS" — THADDEUS 
STEVENS — EX-GOVERNOR THOMAS, OF MARYLAND — 
POPULARITY OF MR. COLFAX — ESTIMATE OF ABILITY 
AND CHARACTER IN CINCINNATI GAZETTE — G. A. TOWN- 
SEND'S GENIAL LETTER — PORTRAIT FROM PUTNAM'S 
MAGAZINE. 

The Thirty-nintli Congress, which had been fully en- 
dorsed in its opposition to the policy of the President 
by the elections for the Fortieth Congress, fearing to 
trust the country to the administration of Mr. Johnson 
during the usual time that intervened between the dis- 
solution of one Congress and the assembling of the Con- 
gress succeeding it, passed an act convening the Fortieth 
Congress, at noon, upon the fourth of March, 1867. 

With the following valedictory by the Speaker, the 
Thirty-ninth Congress was adjourned without day : 

YALEDICTORY. 

" Gentlemen of the House of Eepresentatives : 
To be called to this responsible position, by the volun- 
tary choice of my fellow-members, more than fills the 
measure of an honorable ambition. To be cordially sup- 
ported by those of all political creeds, amid the exciting 
Bcenes so frequent in a body of American legislators, is 
an evidence of confidence and regard I shall prize to 



Life of Schuyler Co fax, 313 

the latest moment of life. But, to be indorsed by 
you all, in the resolution you have spread on your 
journal, and which you adopted with such unusual sig- 
nificance and earnestness, beggars me in words of thanks. 
To be able to retire from this chair, when laying down 
its emblem of authority, with none to reproach me, on 
the one hand, for infidelity to the principles I cherish, 
and none, on the other, to impugn or deny the rigid 
impartiality with which I have striven to administer 
your rules, has been my earnest and daily endeavor in 
the years that are now garnered with the Past. 

*' The greatest of my official predecessors, whose 
memory is still enshrined in so many hearts, and who so 
eminently honored this chair, declared as the essentials 
for a Presiding Officer, promptitude and impartiality in 
deciding the complex questions of order often sprung 
instantaneously upon him; firmness and thoroughness 
in his decisions; patience and good temper towards 
every member; and, above all, to remain cool and un- 
shaken amid the storms of debate, and during those 
moments of agitation from which no deliberative as- 
sembly is exempt ; carefully guarding the rules of the 
House from being sacrificed to temporary passions, 
prejudices or interests. Never hoping to reach this 
high standard, it has been ever before my mind, as the 
sculptor studies the model of the great master of his art, 
hoping to leave behind him a copy not entirely un- 
worthy of the original. 

' '' Though Death has not spared our circle, and New 
York, Kentucky and Pennsylvania have been called to 
mourn the loss of faithful Eepresentatives, we come to 
this closing hour with our ranks thinned less than usual 
by paralyzing sickness or wasting disease. We separate, 



3T4 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

after montlis of the conflicts and excitements of an 
eventful era, with a genial good-will, as gratifying as it 
is creditable. We can never all meet again. But, as in 
a distant landscape the eye rests with delight on its,^ 
beauties, while its defects are thrown into unnoticed 
shade, may memory, as in after years we review our 
associations here, bring before us all the pleasures of 
this companionship in the national service, forgetful of 
the asperities which should perish with the occasions 
that evoked them. 

'^ But, as these parting words are said, another Con- 
gress wait for our seats ; and, with a heart full of grati- 
tude for your unvarying kindness, I declare the House 
of Representatives of the Thirty-ninth Congress of the 
United States adjourned without day." 

Immediately upon the adjournment of the Thirty-ninth 
Congress, the clerk commenced calling the roll of the 
Fortieth Congress. Mr. Colfax was for the third time 
elected Speaker. Upon taking the chair, he made the 
following address: 

*' Gentlemen : Elected for the third time to this 
responsible and trying position^ I appreciate more than 
ever before the importance of this trust, and realize more 
than when first entering upon its difBcult duties the 
absolute necessity of your confidence and support. Nor 
do I overrate the gravity of our position as American 
legislators. 

*' ' The years have never dropped their sand 
On mortal issue vast and grand 
As ours to-day. ' 

"A nation decimated by the conflicts of fraternal 
strife, a land desolated by the destructive marches of 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 315 

hostile armies, a people with the fruits of prolonged 
war, ripened into the gloomy harvest of hearts dead 
with the bullet, as well as hearts heavy with bereave- 
ment and broken with anguish, look anxiously, from 
North and South alike, to this Capital of our continen- 
tal domain. 

" But there is a pathway of duty luminous with light, 
and by that light should we walk. It is to guide our 
steps by the justice of God and the rights of man. It is 
to anchor our legislation, on what the great Commoner 
of England, John Bright, declares to be the simple but 
sublime principles, on which great national questions 
should be settled, the basis of Eternal Right. It is to 
write on our banner those words that will shine brighter 
than the stars that gem the firmament — ' liberty, loyalty 
and law.' It is to so make history that posterity shall 
rise up and call us blessed. 

"The Congress, which, has just passed away, has 
written a record, that will be long remembered by the 
poor and the friendless whom it did not forget. Mis- 
represented, or misunderstood, by those who denounced 
it as enemies; harshly and unjustly criticized by some 
who should have been its friends, it proved itself more 
faithful to human progress and liberty than any of its 
predecessors. The outraged and the oppressed found in 
these Congressional halls champions and friends. Its 
key-note of policy was, protection to the down-trodden. 
It quailed not before the mightiest, and neglected not the 
obscurest. It lifted the slave, whom the nation had freed, 
up to the full stature of manhood. It placed on our 
statute-book, the Civil Rights Bill as our national Magna 
Charta, grander than all the enactments of the American 
code. And in all the region, whose civil governments 



3 1 6 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

had been destroyed by a vanquished rebellion, it declared 
as a guarantee of defence to the weakest, that the free- 
man's hand should wield the freeman's ballot and that 
none but loyal men should govern a land^ which loyal 
sacrifices had saved. Taught, too, by inspiration that 
new wine could not be safely put in old bottles, it pro- 
claimed that there could be no safe or loyal reconstruction 
on a foundation of unrepentant treason or disloyalty. 

"Fortunate will it be for us, if, when we surrender 
these seats to our successors, we can point to a record 
which will shine on the historic page, like that of the 
Congress which has just expired. Thrice fortunate if, 
when we leave this Capitol, our whole national structure 
shall be permanently restored, resting on the sure foun- 
dation-stones of loyalty, unity, liberty and right. 

*' With such convictions of duty I come to this chair 
to administer your rules, but not as a partisan. I appeal 
to you for that generous support by which alone a 
presiding officer can be sustained, pledging you in return 
an inflexible impartiality, which shall be proved by my 
deeds. And, invoking on your deliberations the favor 
of Him who holds the destinies of nations in the hollow 
of his hand, I am now ready to take the oath of office 
prescribed by law." 

During Mr. Colfax's first term of service as Speaker, 
B. F. Taylor, of Chicago, thus wrote of him : 

"Master of parliamentary law, acute, accurate, patient, 
he keeps the legislative deck cleared for action and the 
good ship steadily under way. He may bring a turbulent 
member's unruly sentence to the hammer and pound it 
to pieces, but he does not strike off his own patience 
with the same blow ; his abiding good temper is never 
going, gone. A matter may be cumbered with all 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 317 

manner of parliamentary hedges and ditches, but it all 
seems clear to him as the king's highway. I did not 
marvel at his rigid impartiality, but his wonderful 
readiness challenged my admiration. No matter what 
question in unexpected places might be sprung upon 
him, it was no sooner asked than answered, as if it was 
just a part of a play and this was the rehearsal. 

"Endurance more than brilliance, is an essential 
quality of a presiding, officer. A man of common nerve 
will bear a five hours' strain, perhaps, for a single day, but 
when you add to that a three hours' night watch at the 
wheel and then repeat that eked-out day till the ' log ' 
runs out to months, and the months make half a year, and 
if there is no twang to the strings then, no abatement of 
the natural force, no confusion or impatience, you may 
conclude, that he is not an ' iron ' man, as some would 
say, but of far better material ; as much better as splendid 
brain and nerves, warmed up with mental life, are, than 
the iron turned and twisted in the blacksmith's fire. 

"Admirably adapted for the delicate and difficult 
duties of third officer of the Government, he has nobly 
discharged them, no matter whom you remember as 
having occupied that chair before him." 

A historian of the Thirty-ninth Congress has thus 
written : *' In so large a legislative body, composed of 
so many men of independent thought and action, ac- 
knowledging no parliamentary leader, it is remarkable 
that the wheels of legislation should run so smoothly, 
and that, after all the disagreement in discussion, great 
results should at last be harmoniously wrought out. 
This is partly due to the patriotic spirit which pervaded 
the minds of its members, inducing them to lay aside 
minor differences of opinion for the good of that common 



3i8 Life of Schuyler Co fax, 

country for which their constituents had lately made 
such tremendous sacrifice. The result is also owing to 
the parliamentary ability and tact of him who sat pa- 
tientl}^ and faithfully as Speaker of the House. Deprived 
by his position of opportunity of taking part in the dis- 
cussions, which his genius and experience fitted him to 
illustrate, he, nevertheless, did much to direct the cur- 
rent of legislation which flowed smoothly or turbidly 
before him." 

Thaddeus Stevens, universally recognized and followed 
as "the leader" of the House for many sessions past, has 
said of Mr. Colfax : " As Speaker, I believe no abler 
officer ever presided over a deliberative body." And 
the same opinion has been publicly expressed by ex- 
Governor Thomas, of Maryland, a prominent member of 
Congress in 1835, as he is now, and who has probably 
witnessed, as a spectator, the presiding of nearly every 
Speaker for the past forty years. 

It is doubtless true that no Speaker has ever been 
more universally popular. His political opponents have 
awarded to him the highest praise for his impartiality 
and unswerving justice to them. A despatch, sketching 
the closing scenes of the first session of the Thirty-ninth 
Congress, says: "The hall of the House of Eepresenta- 
tives and the galleries were crowded with spectators, 
watching with interest the closing moments of a session 
that will be memorable in history. The Speakers vale- 
dictory was listened to in deep silence, and as he spoke 
the last words there was an outburst of applause. One of 
the Democratic members, Mr. Stroud, crying vehemently, 
'Three cheers for our noble Speaker 1' the call was re- 
sponded to heartily. Occupying a station full of the 
most perplexing difficulties, he has filled it with such 



Life of Schuyler Co fax, 319 

rare wisdom and felicity as to cballenge the outspoken 
and warmest admiration of liis political adversaries." 

When, at the opening of the Fortieth Congress, Mr. 
Colfax was nominated for Speaker for the third time, it 
was "amid as enthusiastic and universal clapping of 
hands as was ever vouchsafed to a public favorite. No 
partisan demonstration of approbation. Eepublicans 
did not cheer more than Democrats, nor women more 
than men, nor the House more than the galleries. It 
was a spontaneous and affectionate recognition of a rare 
personality and a true manhood." 

Many pen-portraitures of Mr. Colfax have been given 
to the press. The following estimate of his character 
and abilities is given by a Washington correspondent of 
the Cincinnati Gazette, the Eev. Dr. Boynton, Chaplain 
of the House, under date of February 8th, 1868. It is 
certainly not overwrought: 

"The name of Schuyler Colfax is mentioned in politi- 
cal circles as a probable candidate for high honors. Of 
course hundreds are studying his character with new 
interest, and giving their views to the public. This is 
well in regard to all who are presented to the people for 
important positions. By combining these partial like- 
nesses, there is formed what may be called a resultant 
picture, which very nearly represents the man. The 
writer of this is inclined to present his estimate of the 
Speaker, because he is not satisfied with any of the 
representations which he has seen of the man, and be- 
, cause he has had some peculiar opportunities for form- 
ing an opinion. He boasts of no intimate relations with 
Mr. Colfax, and private friendship, therefore, does not 
warp his judgment, while he is not so far removed as to 
know him only as a public officer. 



320 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

''During the sessions of the Thirty-ninth Congress, 
and the Fortieth, thus far, Mr. Colfax has unconsciously 
given me a daily ' sitting' for his portrait ; o^ rather, I 
-have been sitting a short time, daily, in his presence, tot 
receive a multitude of impressions, which have gradually^ 
shaped themselves into a definite opinion. 

" The Speaker belongs to that class whose power is 
invariably underrated, until brought to some severe test. 
They are regarded as simply good-natured, sunny-faced 
men, until, on some great occasion, we start to see smiles 
changed into lightning. 

'' He is constitutionally affable, from gentlemanly in- 
stincts, and on Christian principle he is uniformly cour- 
teous. This is his most familiar aspect, and therefore 
he has been presented to the country as a very prince 
of good nature and affability, a cheery, sunny man, and 
we are left to infer, at least, that he is not remarkable 
for force, breadth and depth of character. 

'' Truthful as this is in regard to his kindly disposition, 
it is a total misconception of the man. Many who have 
only seen the surface of his mind, ask, 'Do you think 
Mr. Colfax is a great man?' 

" The answer will depend upon what we mean by ' a 
great man.' All greatness is not the same. He has not 
the same kind of power whicb distinguished Mr. Web- 
ster, or Clay, or Calhoun. They and their type of 
political greatness belong to an age that has passed away. 
H they could be brought back just as they were, they 
could not be the leaders of this new era. Their intel- 
lectual power, without the deep moral conviction that 
this age demands, would be out of place in our great 
conflict, and worse than useless. 

" Many, in looking for the first time upon the Thirty- 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 321 

ninth Congress, said, ' There are no really great men 
here.' Subsequent reflection changed their opinion, 
and history will yet record that in every element of 
real statesmanship, in clear, broad views of human 
rights and relations, in deep, true moral convictions, in 
all that constitutes the heroic character, the leaders of 
the Thirty-ninth Congress were superior to their prede- 
cessors; and among them Mr. Colfax was, and is, an 
acknowledged leader. 

" They were men who met firmly the shock of the 
most formidable rebellion of modern times, and crushed 
it; and then, against the whole power of the Executive, 
and a great party at the North, and the reinspirited 
rebels, conceived and executed a safe plan for restoring 
the South and reuniting the country. Men capable of 
this are great men. Now, the question of the capacity 
of Mr. Colfax is best answered by the fact, that, for three 
consecutive Congressional terms, and while the greatest 
questions ever presented to American statesmen were 
being discussed, in a time of extreme peril, these strong 
men invited him to preside over them, guide their de- 
liberations, and wield the great power of the Speaker, 
when any grave mistake would have imperilled their 
party and the country. 

*'Many of the strong men in the House could do, 
perhaps, each in his own sphere, what the Speaker could 
not; but in the administrative ability needed in his high 
position, in the power to so guide the great mental 
^^rces of the House as to reach a result, in the 
iaculty of seeing at a glance the true aspect of a difficult 
case, and of prompt decision in that * tact,' which means 
an intuitive perception of what is needed, and how it 
can be done, Mr. Colfax has no superior among our 
public men, in the House or elsewhere. 



322 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

"Standing on the front line of principle, lie seems not 
disposed to attempt all right things at once, but with 
the eye fixed on the ultimate goal, asks what is practi- 
cable now. His convictions rest on a firm moral and 
religious basis, and therefore he is not likely to change. 
He is one of the best living representatives of the true 
American type of mind, thoroughly practical, working 
right on to definite ends with great executive force, 
power of endurance, and an unwearied attention to 
the details of business. In any higher position, he 
would be dealing still with the same questions with 
which he is already familiar ; he would be associated 
with the same men over whose deliberations he has pre- 
sided so long; and he would bring to the conduct of 
affairs the same clear perceptions, the same power of 
prompt decision, the same exquisite tact and firmness 
that have distinguished him as Speaker ; and whether 
this kind of greatness is needed by the country now, 
each must decide for himself." 

A Washington letter from G. A. Townsend to the 
Cleveland Leader contains this genial picture : 

"In what he called his ' den,' I found Schuyler Colfax, 
some days ago ; a little closet-room, lighted by one base- 
ment window under the Capitol. It was a curiosity 
shop of manuscript and documents, order reigning 
through superficial confusion. Here the Speaker hides 
himself away from pages and harpies, and works unas- 
sistedly at his speeches and his correspondence, the latter 
of itself a drudgery as great and exciting as any ac- 
countant's. 

" But a lighthouse never grows old ; after a hundred 
years its flame is as youthful as when it began. The 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 323 

pure, unaffected, radiant clieerfulness of Mr. Colfax 
keeps liim as rosy and hopeful as a boy. Here he sits, 
smoking his cigar, surprised in the midst of a smile, for 
all his thoughts are good companions. 

"I took a seat before him, and while he answered 
some questions I had brought, I tried to make out his 
face and character — a very diflicult type were both of 
them, for a country of which the Speaker is so repre- 
sentative, and yet of a temperament so uncommon. 

"We are a sober-minded people with lines of thrift 
and anxiety in our faces, like the marks of whip and 
burden. We go to law and go to church with the same 
countenances. We want to make money fast, and on 
the way and after the end we have remorses, aches, 
wounded self-esteems, asceticisms. The air, the soil, the 
worry and the hurry of American life provincialize the 
American into a hard, repellant, dreadfully over-earnest 
man, with a skin, a stomach, and a soul equally dys- 
peptic. 

" Out of this population a face grows, now and then, 
like a clover -head out of a stock-yard, all freshness and 
color, and quick to feel the earliest breezes. This is 
Mr. Colfax. His life is perennial hopefulness, having a 
good conscience for its compass, and for its ballast a 
temperament that is equal as an hour-glass. Full of the 
elasticity of the Empire City, a widow's son, born forty- 
five years ago, with a parentage reaching back on one 
side to the Schuylers, on the other to an officer of Wash- 
ington's body guard. At ten years of age his schooling 
ceased and he had found a new father. At thirteen he 
quitted New York and his step-father's store for a home 
in Indiana. At twenty-two he was an editor, twelve hun- 
dred dollars in debt. At thirty he was a Congressman, 



324 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

as he has been ever since, and three times elected Speaker 
of the House, the third position in the nation. At the 
base of this successful career we find neither wealth, 
chicanery, nor patronage, but good citizenship, faithful 
public services, steadfast self-respect, and a cheerful 
temper. It is a quiet career of success under Eepublican 
institutions, with steady talents, quick perceptions, and 
excellent confidence. His model in the State has been 
Henry Clay,, whose manners were like his own, and he 
confesses to have modelled his Speakership upon Clay's 
career as Speaker of the House. 'Never hoping,' he 
says, 'to reach this high standard, it has ever been before 
my mind, as the sculptor studies the model of the Great 
Master of his art.' 

"Mr. Colfax is a member of the Dutch Reformed 
Church, and total abstinence is one of hie private prin- 
ciples. He is a smoker, however, and a loving traveller 
by foot and stage. His oratory is fervid and florid 
together, and has served his party handsomely in trying 
times, while his judgment is guarded, yet decisive as his 
mode of speech. 

"He first announced the Republican platform after 
the breach with Mr. Johnson, thus : 

"'Let us make haste slowly, and we can then hope 
that the foundations of our Government, when thus re- 
constructed on the basis of indisputable loyalty, will be 
as eternal as the stars.' 

" In short, this is Mr. Colfax : 

'"The clear, 
Persuasive orator of right ; the pure, 
Unsullied patriot ; the changeless, sure, 
And genial friend, to many hearts how dear 1' '* 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 325 

Another portraiture from Putnam's Magazine reveals 
still other features of his character : 

''Without being educated as a scholar, industrious 
reading has given him much of what is valuable in 
scholarship unalloyed by its pedantry, its clannishness, 
or its egotism. Without being bred a lawyer, practical 
familiarity with legislation has taught him all that is 
most valuable in law, freed from the conservatism and 
inaptitude for change and reform, which rest like an 
incubus on so many of those minds which are bred by 
the habits of the legal profession to look for precedents 
which show what the law has been, rather than to broad 
principles which settle what the law ought to be. Yet 
Mr. Colfax has frequently shown the happiest familiarity 
with precedents, especially in questions of parliamentary 
practice. As a presiding officer he is the most popular 
the House has had since Henry Clay. His marvellous 
quickness of thought, and talent for the rapid adminis- 
tration of details, enables him to hold the reins of the 
House of Eepresentatives, even in its most boisterous 
and turbulent moods, (and, with the exception of the 
New York Board of Brokers, the British House of 
Commons, or a fair at Donnybrook, it is the most 
uproarious body in the world,) with as much grace and 
ease as Mr. Bonner would show the paces of Dexter in 
Central Park, or as Gottschalk would thread the keys 
of a piano, in a dreamy maze of faultless, quivering 
melody. As an orator, Mr. Colfax is not argumentative, 
except as clear statement and sound judgment are con- 
vincing. He rides no erratic hobbies. He demands 
few policies which the average sense of intelligent men 
cannot be made to assent to on a clear statement of his 
position. He is eminently representative. A glance at 

his broad, well-balanced, practical brain, indicates that' 
20 



326 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

his leading faculty is the sum of all the faculties— judg- 
ment; and that what he believes, the majority of the 
people either believe or can be made to believe. Some 
men may be further ahead of the age. Mr. Colfax finds 
sufficient occupation and usefulness in adapting himself 
to times and things as they are, without cutting his 
throat with paradoxes, or stealing a march on mankind 
with some new light, which they are very like to regard 
as a ' will-o'-the-wisp.' He has no eccentricities, but 
great tact. His talents are administrative and executive 
rather than deliberative. He would make good appoint- 
ments and adopt sure policies. He would make a 
better President or Speaker of the House, than Senator. 
He knows men well, estimates them correctly, treats 
them all candidly and fairly. No man will get through 
his business with you in fewer minutes, and yet none is 
more free from the horrid hrusqueness of busy men. 
There are heart and kindness in Mr. Colfax's politeness. 
Men leave his presence with the impression that he is at 
once an able, honest and kind man. Political opponents 
like him personally, as well as his political friends. We 
have never heard that he has any enemies. The breath 
of slander has been silent toward his fair, spotless fame. 
The wife of his youth, after being for a long time an 
invalid, sank to her final rest several years ago, leaving 
him childless. His mother and sister preside at his 
receptions, which for many years have been, not the 
most brilliant, but the most popular of any given at the 
Capital. Socially, Mr. Colfax is frank, lively and jolly. 
The everlasting 1-hood and Us-ness of great men is for- 
gotten in his presence. His manners are not quite so 
familiar as those of Lincoln, but nearly so. They are 
gentle, natural, graceful, with a bird-like or business- 
like quickness of thought and motion." 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 327 



CHAPTER XXX. 

SPEECH OF MR. COLFAX BEFORE THE UNION LEAGUE OF 
NEW YORK — SERENADE SPEECH AT WASHINGTON 
UPON JULY ADJOURNMENT OF FORTIETH CONGRESS. 

On the 7tli of May, 1867, Mr. Colfax addressed the 
Union League of New York city. The following ex- 
tracts are from his speech on that occasion : 

"We scarcely realize how rapidly and yet gloriously 
we are making history ; but posterity will read it on the 
open pages of our country's annals. Six years ago — 
how brief it seems! but a fraction of an individual's 
life — but a breath in the life of a nation — the banner of 
rebellion waved over hostile armies and stolen forts 
from the Potomac to the Rio Grande, and the on-looking 
world predicted the certain downfall of the Republic. 
Now, thanks to our gallant armies and their gallant 
commanders — Grant, the inflexible — Sherman, the con- 
queror — Sheridan, the invincible — and all their fearless 
compatriots on sea and shore — but one flag waves over 
the land — the flag that Washington loved, and that 
Jackson and Scott, and Taylor adorned with their bril- 
liant victories — the flag dearer to us in all its hours of 
peril than when gilded by the sunshine of proi^perity 
and fanned by the zephyrs of peace — at last triumphant, 
unquestioned, unassailed. Six years ago, millions of 
human beings born on American soil, created by the same 
Divine Father, destined to the same eternal Hereafter, 
were sold like cattle, and our escutcheon was dimmed 
and dishonored by the stain of American Slavery. To- 
day, auction-blocks, and manacles, and whipping-posts 
are, thank God, things of the past, while the slave 



22S Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

himself has become the citizen, with the freedman's 
weapon of protection — the ballot in his own right hand. 
Nor can we forget, while rejoicing over this happy con- 
trast, the human agencies so potential in its accomplish- 
ment. First and conspicuous among the rest rises before 
my mind the tall form of a martyred President, whose 
welcome step no mortal ear shall ever listen to again. 
Faithful to his oath, faithful to his country, faithful to 
the brave armies his word called to the field, he never 
swerved a hair's breadth from his determination to crush 
this mighty rebellion, and all that gave it aid, and com- 
fort, and support. Unjustly and bitterly denounced by 
his enemies, and yours, as an usurper and despot; com- 
pared to Nero and Caligula, and all other tyrants whose 
base deeds blacken the pages of history, your noble 
League stood by him amid this tempest of detraction, 
cordially and to the end ; and you have now your abun- 
dant vindication and reward. 

"Again, when in the very crisis of the nation's 
agonies, he struck with the might of the war-power 
against slavery as the cause of all our woes, you stood 
by him, upholding his hands and strengthening him in 
that eventful conflict. Enemies assailed you with 
epithet and invective : you were called negro worship- 
pers, fanatics and radicals. But on the stump, at the 
polls, and in Congress, we all faced the issue fearlessly 
and the world-accursed system went down forever and 
forever. No thanks to our opponents for this beneficent 
consummation. But now, our enemies being our judges, 
how magnificently are we endorsed ? Who dares now 
to wag his tongue against it ? Who repeats the slanders 
heaped upon you but yesterday ? Not one. Not one. 
Yours was the contest; you bore the opprobrium, and 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 329 

yours is the victory. And your children and your 
children's children will rise up to call you blessed, 
because you dared, despite the wrath of traitors South, 
and the invectives of your opponents North, to destroy 
this giant wrong, from turret to foundation stone, even 
amid the agonies and throes of civil war, and to crush 
it out from this fair land forever. 

"But other duties to the country yet remained to be 
performed ; and you, and those who thought with you, 
girded your loins for the work. The Thirty-ninth 
Congress, the noblest and most patriotic body of men 
I have ever seen assembled at the Capitol during my 
dozen years of public service, wisely rejecting the ill- 
advised policy of an Executive whose highest ambition 
and desire seemed to have been to destroy the party 
that had elevated him to power, proposed a Constitu- 
tional amendment, embodying great principles, that they 
deemed should be imbedded irreversibly in the National 
Constitution, as fitting guarantees for loyal reconstruc- 
tion. Although indorsed overwhelmingly by the loyal 
States at the ballot-box, the rebel States, hardening their 
hearts, spurned and rejected it, and scoffed at its framers 
and endorsers. And then guided, as I believe, by the 
same Providence which gave our armies victory after 
victory as soon as the nation had written ' liberty for 
all' on our banners, Congress enacted the Military Ee- 
construction bills of March second and March twenty- 
fourth, opening the ballot-boxes to the loyal, regardless 
of color, disfranchising for the present the leaders of the 
rebellion, and laying down the terms, and the only terms 
on which the rights forfeited by this bloody war could 
be resumed. And this firmness and devotion to the 
right is bringing forth its legitimate fruit. With "an alac- 



33 o Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

rity unexpected to many, and with an acquiescence ex- 
pected bat by few, the vast majority in the South are 
ignoring their life-long prejudices, and hastening to ac- 
cept these terms. Nor need I say to you that having 
carefully elaborated these laws, having passed them and 
then repassed them over the inevitable veto of the Ex- 
ecutive, the great party which has thus become respon- 
sible for them, intend to stand by them faithfully and 
literally, if their terms are complied with by the rebel 
States in good faith and without evasion. They would 
be branded with dishonor, and their fame tarnished for- 
ever, if they did not. Bat it is a party whose plighted 
word to the people has never been broken, and will not 
be now. I regret, indeed, that Mr. Sumner's amend- 
ment, requiring provisions in the new Constitutions for 
universal education as a condition of reconstruction, did 
not prevail, but I hope the good sense of the Southern 
people will establish it voluntarily, insuring them a 
warmer welcome as they return to the council board. 
I cannot omit, in passing, to state that one of the es- 
sentials of the reconstruction policy is the election of 
Congressmen, who can honestly and truthfully take the 
oath required by law. We should have been faithless, 
and worthy of the slow, unmoving finger of scorn, if 
this essential had not been insisted on inflexibly. When 
the waves of treason swept over all that region, there 
were a faithful few who refused to yield to Secession. 
Branded as traitors to the Confederacy because they 
would not surrender their birthright, they never swerved 
from their allegiance. Punished by confiscation and^ 
robbery, and threatened with outrage and death, they 
never faltered ; and when they could no longer live peace- 
ably at their homes, they fled to the mountains, the 



Life of Schuyler Co fax, 331 

caves, and tlie swamps, and said, ' Welcome confiscation, 
robbery, exile or death ; but we stand by the stars and 
stripes to the last drop of our blood, and the last beat 
of our hearts.' God bless these faithful Union men. 
They are to lead back these States, clad in new robes of 
liberty and j ustice. 

^* I cannot doubt the future of the great party which 
has won these triumphs and established these principles. 
It has been so brilliantly successful, because it recog- 
nized liberty and justice as its cardinal principles ; and 
because, scorning all prejudices and defying all oppro- 
brium, it allied itself to the cause of the humble and the 
oppressed. It sought to enfranchise, not to enchain ; to 
elevate, not to tread down ; to protect, never to abase. 
It cared for the humblest rather than for the mightiest — 
for the weakest rather than the strongest. It recognized 
that the glory of States and Nations was justice to the 
poorest and feeblest. And another secret of its wondrous 
strength was that it fully adopted the striking injunction 
of our murdered chief: 'With malice toward none, with 
charity for all, but with firmness for the right, as God 
gives us to see the right.' Only last month the British 
Chancellor of the Exchequer, D'Israeli, in defending his 
Eeform Bill, exclaimed : ' This is a nation of classes, 
and must remain so.' If I may be pardoned for replying, 
I would say : ' This is a nation of freemen, and must 
remain so.' Faithful to the traditions of our fathers in 
sympathizing with all who long for the maintenance or 
advancement of liberty in Mexico or England, in Ireland 
or Crete, and yet carefully avoiding all entangling alli- 
ances or violations of the law, with a recognition from 
ocean to ocean, North and South alike, of the right of 
all citizens bound by the law to share in the choice of 



;^2'^ Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

the law-maker, and tlius to have a voice in the country 
their heart's blood must defend, our centennial anniver- 
sary of the Declaration of Independence will find us, as 
an entire nation, recognizing the great truths of that im- 
mortal Instrument, enjoying a fame, wide as the world 
and eternal as the stars. 

Upon the adjournment of the July session of the 
Fortieth Congress, Mr. Colfax was serenaded, and, in 
his speech upon the occasion, made the following re- 
marks concerning the course of the President and the 
action of Congress : 

"Fellow-Citizens: There are two kinds of sere- 
nades in Washington : the first, when members arrive 
to enter upon the discharge of their duties ; and the last, 
when, after the close of their labors, they are about to 
return to their homes. As Holy Writ declares that lie 
who taketh off his armor has more right to be proud 
than he who putteth it on, I value this mark of your 
regard more highly, because, our work being completed, 
you mean by it, 'Well done, good and faithful servants.' 
Congress sincerely desired to avoid this midsummer ses- 
sion. They passed the military reconstruction bills last 
March. The President vetoed them, on the explicit 
ground that they made the military commanders supreme 
and absolute over the people of the late rebellious States. 
Congress accepted his construction of them, and repassed 
them over his veto. They were cordially endorsed by 
the loyal people of the North, and acquiesced in more 
readily than had been supposed by the people of the 
South. Soon it became apparent that, under them, loy- 
alty would triumph in most of the Southern States, and 
then the President vetoed his own veto, and promul- 
gated a decision of his Attorney-General, that, under 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 233 

these laws, the military commanders were mere police- 
men, subordinate to the provisional Governments over 
which they had been placed ; the army but a posse comi- 
tatus to enforce the decrees of the rebel Governors and 
Mayors ; and that every rebel was to be his own register. 
The people, surprised at these decisions, appealed to the 
Congress, in which they placed such deserved confidence, 
to reassemble ; and from Maine to California they came 
hither to resume their legislative authority, and to so 
declare the meaning of their legislation that no legal 
sophistries of any Attorney-General could mystify it. 
Yetoed again, they repassed it by a vote of four to one, 
and it has gone on the statute-book as one of the laws 
which the President, by his Constitutional oath, must 
*take care to have faithfully executed.' Some, I know, 
condemn Congress for having done too much in its past 
legislation, and some, for having done too little ; but I 
think it has struck the golden mean — firm and yet 
prudent, courageous without undue excitement, inflex- 
ible and yet wise." 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

FALL ELECTIONS OF 1867 — ^SPEECH OF MR. COLFAX AT 
COOPER INSTITUTE, NEW YORK. 

The fall election of 1867 in the State of Indiana was 
of comparatively little importance. In several other 
States, however, there were important elections, the 
issues of which would largely influence national inter- 



334 -^^f^ rf Schuyler Colfax, 

ests. Mr. Colfax took part in these important campaigns, 
making speeches in several different States. On the 
evening of the 27th of October, he spoke in the hall of 
the Cooper Institute. Of this speech, Mr. Greeley has 
said that it was the ablest speech made in New York 
city since Lincoln's Cooper Institute speech, in 1860. 

The large hall was crowded. The stand was occupied 
by prominent citizens, many of them representing dis- 
tant States. Mr. Charles S. Spencer, Chairman of the 
Union Republican Central Committee, introduced the 
speaker; who was greeted with enthusiastic cheering. 

SPEECH OF MR. COLFAX. 

"Now, my friends, three cheers for what is better than 
any man — for men are but ciphers compared to the great 
principles for which they stand — three cheers for that 
principle consecrated by the blood of our soldiers upon 
the battle-field, and enshrined in the legislation of the 
American Congress— that loyal men shall rule the States 
that loyal sacrifice has saved. [Immense cheering.] Mr. 
Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you with a 
grateful heart for the kind manner in which you have 
welcomed me this evening so enthusiastically to the stand. 
You have done so, I trust, to show that in your hearts 
you believe that I have been faithful to principle. [Ap- 
plause.] I come before you to-night, from my distant 
home, to vindicate and to defend the principles and the 
policy of that noble Union Republican organization, 
which alone, of all other parties in this broad land, from 
the hour that the first gun was fired on Sumter until 
the last rebel sword flashed before Richmond, never 
despaired of the American Republic. [Applause.] Its 
past is crowned with the glory of having saved this 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 22 S 

Union from the menaces of the sword of treason. When 
I make this statement so broadly, I may be met by some 
Democrat in this audience with a direct denial of it, but 
I shall prove it in a single sentence to his satisfaction, as 
well as to yours ; and I ask you if you could, by any 
possibility, blot out of existence from the winter of 1860 
-61 the whole Eepublican party, so that there should 
have been no Republicans in power in the Executive 
Department, none in Congress, none at the polls, and that 
the destinies of this nation had been reposed exclusively 
in the hands of those men who shouted by their leaders 
all over the land, ' no coercion,' when the sword of trea- 
son was drawn to sunder the Union, where would the 
country be to-day ? Saved, as I have said, by this noble 
Republican organization, by their fidelity and patriotism 
in the hour of trial. I know that the unfaltering hero- 
ism of our soldiers on every battle-field upon the land, 
and our sailors on every wave-rocked monitor and 
frigate upon the sea, gave to us our victories, lifting us 
from every valley of disaster and reverse, and planting 
our feet upon the sun-crowned heights of victory. [Ap- 
plause.] But it was the action of the Union Republican 
party in the Congress of the United States that placed 
that army in the field. It was organized by law, it was 
armed and equipped by law, it was fed and clothed by 
law, it was supplied by law, re-enforced by law ; and 
when the time came that this party had to meet, in the 
face of the defeats of 1862, the odium of tax laws, that 
the banner might be kept flying in the field, and the draft 
laws, that our ranks might be kept full, we went forward 
faithfully and fearlessly, defying all prejudice, and placed 
those laws upon our statute-books, that through them 
the country might live, and not die. [Applause.] 



23^ Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

"You must all remember that in the palmy days of 
the Democratic party, when Democracy meant something 
else beside sympathy with treason or apologies for its 
leaders — they emblazoned upon their banners and pro- 
claimed through the mouths of their statesmen, ' indem- 
nity for the past and security for the future.' I know 
right well we cannot obtain indemnity for the past, nor 
have we asked it. You cannot go down to those cannon- 
furrowed battle-fields, and prison-camps, and unmarked 
graves, and breathe the breath of life into the bodies of 
your dead soldiers there. You cannot return to father 
and mother their first-born, for whom they sorrow and 
will not be comforted, because they are not. You cannot 
give back to the widow the husband who was robbed 
from her, that by his death the Eepublic might live. You 
cannot return to this army of a million of orphans in this 
land, every one of them made orphans by rebel bullets, 
the fathers to guide their infant steps in the paths of 
usefulness and virtue. I know right well this cannot 
be done. It is impossible. The soldiers of the Union 
sleep the sleep that knows no waking. The whole 
South is filled with graves where sleep those mar- 
tyrs of constitutional liberty till the resurrection morn. 
On Shiloh's bloody field and Carolina's sandy shore, on 
snow-crowned Kenesaw and the rocky hills of Gettys- 
burg, before the blood-drenched forts of Eichmond and 
of Yicksburg, and where they fell fighting above the 
clouds on Lookout Mountain, they sleep the warrior's 
sleep, never, never again to fight for country or for home. 
But their silent yet impressive dust speaks to us that, as 
they gave their heart's blood and their lives to crush 
the power of treason in this country, you shall not by 
your ballots return to those rebels the misused power 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 337 

they wrested from their hands. [Great applause.] If 
you can do it, if you will do it, you are not worthy of 
the millionth part of the precious blood that flowed like 
water to save your country from the menacing sword of 
tre^c^n. [Applause.] But though we demand no in-* 
'Nl|mhity for the past, no banishment, no confiscations, no 
penalties for the offended law, there is one thing we do 
demand, there is one thing, thank Grod! we have the 
power to demand, and that is security for the future, 
[applause,] and that, God helping us, we intend to have, 
[hear, hear,] not only in legislation, but imbedded in the 
imperishable bulwarks of our national Constitution, 
against which the waves of secession may dash in the 
future, but in vain. [Applause.] We intend to have 
those States reconstructed on such enduring corner-stones 
that posterity shall realize that our fallen heroes have 
not died in vain. Into whose hands should this work be 
placed ? In the hands of the enemies of the country ? 
in the hands of the men who laid their arms around the 
pillars of your temple of liberty, seeking to whelm us 
with themselves in a common ruin ? No, oh, no ! I do 
not know what voice New York may utter in this im- 
pending State struggle, but I can tell you for myself and 
the fellow-members who have formed this inflexible 
Eepublican party in the Fortieth Congress, we intend 
to stand until the very last hour of its existence, [great 
applause,] through evil or through good report, as bravely 
as when your soldiers followed the flag when reverses 
had come upon them, and followed it to new victories 
that blotted out the memories of those reverses; we 
intend to stand as firmly as the eternal hills until the 
fourth of March, 1869 — [great applause.] YoU cut off 
the end of that sentence by your applause, but you knew 



2;^S Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

what was coming. [Laughter.] But, as we have stood 
thus patriotically, as I believe, thus fearlessly and justly 
in -the pathway of right, we have been met by all kinds 
of invective and opprobrium. Years ago they sought 
to overwhelm us with the epithet of Abolitionist, and they 
shouted it at us all over the land, pointing the finger of 
scorn at us as Abolitionists. We took the name which 
they sought to make one of reproof, and we made it the 
synonyme of glory throughout the Eepublic, and there 
is not a man to-day in the land who shared with us in 
the glory of ridding the Republic of ' the sum of all vil- 
lanies' whose heart does not throb with exultation at the 
thought. Then they called us Black Republicans. Well, 
they have got a good many more of them down South 
than they relish to-day. [Laughter.] Now they have a 
new epithet for us. It is Radical. They think that will 
finish the chapter. [Laughter.] Well, I never call 
them by that name which has almost passed into political 
nomenclature — Copperhead. I call them Democrats, 
upon the principle that you always call the child by the 
name its mother gave it, although I consider it rather 
inappropriate, and my conscience rather smites me when 
I do so. But whenever they call me Radical, I answer 
that I would rather be called a Radical than a Rebel. 
[Laughter.] And I am a Radical, from the crown of my 
head to the sole of my feet. [Applause.] Radical for 
right and against the wrong; Radical for justice and 
against injustice; Radical for liberty and against slavery; 
Radical for loyalty and against disloyalty; a Radical 
friend of every defender of my country, and a Radical 
opponent of every enemy of my native land. [Applause.] 
" But what is this policy that our opponents so bitterly 
condemn and denounce ? Let me show you to-night ; 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 339 

let me prove to you, as I shall prove, that there is no 
party in this country that has so earnestly longed and 
labored for peace and rest as this Republican party. 
We are anxious to end this turmoil ; we are anxious to 
have Reconstruction an accomplished fact; we are 
anxious to welcome back the old States around the 
council table of the nation ; but we are anxious to have 
it done on right terms, on just terms, on terms under 
which every Union man throughout the entire South, 
from the Potomac to the Rio Grande, can stand up and 
say he loves the flag and loves the Union, without fear 
or reproach, or dishonor, or ostracism, and we will take 
no less. We are and have been ready to admit them 
immediately upon just terms. Our opponents have been 
in favor of reconstruction upon no terms at all. Now, 
what did we do ? The very first Congress, nay more, 
the very first session of the very first Congress that 
met after the surrender of Lee, that is, the first session 
of the Thirty-ninth Congress, defined and proposed 
its plan of reconstruction. What was it ? A con 
stitutional amendment, which has been explained and 
vindicated before you many times during the last 
canvass, by able and eloquent speakers, and I will not 
take up your time now by repeating their arguments. 
It was a bond of public justice and public safety com- 
bined, to be embodied in our national Constitution, to 
show to our posterity that patriotism was a virtue, and 
rebellion was a crime. And those terms were more 
magnanimous than any that were ever offered in any 
country under like circumstances. You remember the 
first section of it. It provided that every one born upon 
our soil, or naturalized in our courts, should be entitled 
to enjoy all the rights of citizenship — the right to make 



340 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

contracts, tlie right to receive wages, the right to testify, 
so that wrongs may be redressed, and the constitutional 
right to sue, as you know you have the constitutional 
right to be sued. [Laughter.] It said nothing about 
political rights at all, but it simply proposed to guarantee 
the civil rights of citizenship to every person born under 
the flag, and all who come from foreign lands to enjoy 
civil and religious liberty here. The second section 
provided that every State should have representation in 
Congress as those who shared in the election of Eepre- 
sentatives, no more, no less. So that every voter in New 
York and Texas, in Indiana and Florida, should count 
just one in the scale of political power, in making laws 
and in choosing electors of President. But, not satisfied 
with, enjoying power on three-fifths of their slaves, they 
demanded power on all of them, as they were now all 
free persons, and thus to have increased power on 
account of tbe rebellion and its results. The third 
section provided that those persons who, having held 
office under the Government, or a State, had taken an 
oath to maintain the Constitution, and had added the 
crime of perjury to that of treason, should not be 
allowed to ^ swear again' until Congress, by a two-thirds 
vote, relieved them of this disability. And the fourth 
section provided that the National debt should be in- 
violate, that the Eebel debt should be repudiated, and 
that no one should ever be paid out of your taxes any 
compensation for the emancipation of slaves. What 
was there unjust — what was there wrong in these pro- 
visions ? They were kind ; they were forbearing ; they 
were magnanimous; they were less than we had a 
right to demand ; but in our anxiety, in our desire, to 
close up this question, we proposed it to them. How 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 341 

was it received ? It was scouted, kicked out of every 
Legislature in qyq\^ State of the South which had been 
reconstructed under the unwise policy of Andrew John- 
son. In all the Legislatures of- the South you could 
not find six men that voted for this constitutional amend- 
ment ; in some States one, in some States none at all. 
They trampled upon it ; they spat upon it ; they repu- 
diated it, and said they would have nothing to do with 
it. Do you know why it was? Because they deter- 
mined to have more power after the rebellion than they 
had before. Before, they demanded that they should 
have power for three-fifths of their slaves, and not allow 
them to vote ; now, they wanted power for their emanci- 
pated slaves. [Cries of 'Never! never!'] Then, when 
this was repudiated we came together again at the 
second session of the same Congress to devise some 
other plan of reconstruction in place of the profier that 
had been spurned. Now, when we came to this point 
we found we had four ways before us. We could, in 
the first place, have provided by law that voting should 
be confined solely to the loyal whites of the South, but 
this would have excluded nine-tenths of the white 
population that had been swept into the maelstrom of 
treason. This was the basis on which Lincoln proposed 
to reconstruct the South when he said iliat he was in 
favor of the readmission of any State whereof one- tenth 
of the people were loyal. But the Democrats had de- 
nounced this, because it would be placing the power in 
the hands of a minority, and it was thus condemned in 
advance. Then again we could have reconstructed upon 
the basis of all the loyal freemen in these States, and 
the loyal alone. What would have been the result of 

that plan ? It would have made the States a great deal 
21 



342 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

blacker than they are. For, though these blacks have 
been sold, under the flag, like the swine of the sty, 
or the beasts of the field, their families torn from them, 
never again to meet until at the judgment bar of the 
Almighty, if you have here a Democratic soldier, a man 
who has been South with Sherman to the sea, he will 
tell you that when he saw a black face he saw a friend; 
and there was not a man fleeing from the horrors of 
Andersonville, the groans of which echoed around the 
civilized world, and filled it with horror, who, if he saw 
a white man on the road, did not hide in the swamp, 
but, if he saw a black man, boldly went to him, and 
found that he would share with him his humble cabin, 
divide with him his crust, and even at the risk of being 
hung for it by his master, point out to him the right 
road to the camp where the Stars and Stripes would 
insure his security. The third plan was Mr. Johnson's 
giving the power to the rebel element in the South, 
which I need not discuss. There was a fourth plan we 
could have adopted. That I come before you to vindi- 
cate and defend. We made the basis of our reconstruc- 
tion, first, every loyal man in the South, and then (and 
I am going to state this pretty sharply to you, too) we 
gave the ballot also to every man who had only been a 
rebel. The persons we excluded for the present from 
the suffrage in the South were not the hundreds and 
thousands of men who fought in the rebel army, not 
the millions of men who had given their adhesion to it, 
but only those men who had sworn allegiance to the 
Constitution and then added to treason the crime of 
perjury. I shall prove this to you from the Constitution 
of the United States. I have it here — not one of the 
copies that our distinguished President, Andrew John- 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 343 

son, left wlien he was swinging around the circle. 
[Laughter.] I would not risk his copy, because he reads 
his, apparently, with rebel spectacles. [Here he quoted 
from the second article of the Constitution of the United 
States.] Those are all the persons that we excluded in 
the rriilitary bills. It is true, in Virginia for instance, 
they had, in defiance of that law, which is the supreme 
law of the land, allowed some of their ofncers to hold 
of&ce without swearing to support the Constitution. 
We excluded only those persons named in the Consti- 
tution of the United States as being required to take 
an oath to support it. Well, they said they would not 
register at all, and that if they did register they would 
vote against the convention. Now, I say they can do 
just exactly as they please. [Applause.] The door was 
opened to them by Congress. We said to those men 
who had only been rebels, and who had not been per- 
jured also, 'You may share in this work of reconstruc- 
tion if you see fit. If you see fit to register, do so.' 
Upon them rests the responsibility, not upon us. I will 
tell you the result. In 1862 there was a succession of 
Democratic victories, and you will remember that they 
inspired with hope these rebels in the South. They 
prolonged the conflict, but the terms they obtained in 
1865 were not so good as they could have obtained in 
1862. They leaned upon those Democratic victories of 
1862, which were their hope all through from the time they 
drew the sword. Now when they see these apparent Demo- 
cratic victories of this year, they are encouraged again, 
and I think they may vote down reconstruction in three 
States — Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas, and when they 
do it, we shall, as Providence perhaps intended, at the 
Presidential election have the sharp, direct issue before 



944 -^^f^ ^f Schuyler Colfax, 

the people of the country, 'Will you have rebel govern- 
ments in these States, or will you have governments 
resting upon the great mass of the people ?' and I am 
not afraid of the decision. [Applause.] 

"One thing we have determined upon, one thing we 
shall stand inflexibly for, and that is that these States 
shall return to the old council-board of the Republic, 
that they made such haste to leave six years ago, led by 
the faithful Union men who refused to bow the knee to 
Baal during all that conflict. [Applause.] There were 
some men there, faithful men, fearless men, when the 
storm swept over that land, and when the assemblage at 
Richmond, calling itself the Confederate Congress, passed 
laws declaring that any man who would not swear alle- 
giance to the flag and the Constitution of the Confeder- 
acy, should be regarded as a traitor, and punished with 
imprisonment and confiscation. When prisons yawned 
for them, and when they saw their comrades hung by 
the neck until they were dead, they said : ' Welcome 
confiscation, welcome imprisonment, welcome death, but 
we stand by the Stars and Stripes to the last drop of our 
blood and the last beat of our hearts.' God bless those 
faithful Southern men. They come up out of the fur- 
nace of treason with none of its fires upon their gar- 
ments. They were true among the false; they were 
patriots among traitors; they were loyal among the 
disloyal. If I ever surrender them — if I should ever^ 
in any infatuation that would be insanity — as a repre- 
sentative in the American Congress, deliver them to 
the power of the men who would wreak the vengeance 
on them they failed to wreak on this country, may my 
tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, and my hand 
fall nerveless at my side. [Applause.] If you are will- 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 345 

ing to yield tliem up because they would not sell their 
priceless birthright and surrender their allegiance, then 
throughout all Time the finger of scorn of the whole 
World should be pointed at you. But I know you will 
not do it. We are sometimes told by these men as they 
go up and down the highways and by-ways of the coun- 
try, pleading, as they did, for the rebel cause during 
the war, that we must have larger and more forgiving 
hearts. We have had the story of the prodigal son re- 
cited to us in the West, and we are told that we ought 
to follow that example. Well, I learned the parable at 
my mother's knee, and I believe in the lesson it teaches. 
But if the prodigal son had striven to murder his father 
and brother, and on leaving it had set fire to the roof 
that had sheltered and protected him — if after all this he 
had returned to the door-sill and insolently said : ' Give 
me back my rights, restore me again to my portion of 
the inheritance without condition, absolutely and at 
once, I do not believe that there would have been 
much veal eaten in that household that night. [Long 
continued applause and laughter.] I think that calf 
would have lived to this very day. [Applause.] But 
the prodigal son came back humbled ; he came back 
asking forgiveness, and the heart of the father warmed 
toward him. He went out and met him and embraced 
him ; he placed the ring upon his finger, and the fatted 
calf was killed. Did they come back in this way ? Did 
a single rebel army ever surrender voluntarily ? Did 
a single rebel State ever come back voluntarily ? Did 
a single rebel statesman return to our council-halls and 
acknowledge his error and his crime ? Not one. They 
kept on fighting, month after month, and year after year, 
putting more armies in the field, and filling the land 



346 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

witli bloodshed, carnage, and desolation, until they re- 
deemed the pledge that they made at the outset, that 
they would fight on to the very last ditch. And so they 
did. They fought until they had no more men, and no 
more money, and no more resources, and then the gallant 
soldiers under Sheridan, Grant, and Thomas [cheers] — 
I ought to have named General Grant first [cheers and 
laughter,] because of all the men to whom we owe credit 
for the salvation of our land, there is none that is his 
equal or his superior. [Loud cheers.] He combined 
the inflexible pertinacity of Wellington with the brilliant 
dash of Napoleon ; and it can be said of him, as of one 
in our olden time, that his modesty is only equalled by 
his merit. [Thunders of applause.] But the gallant 
soldiers following these brave chieftains tumbled them 
into the last ditch, tore their weapons from their hands, 
and compelled them to surrender: no thanks to them 
for what they could not prevent. [Cheers.] I can for- 
give when these men appeal to me with their cries of 
forgiveness. I say that my heart is large enough to 
forgive these men, whose crime I have described — these 
men who have murdered my constituents and my own 
friends on the battle-fields — these men whose hands and 
skirts are still red with the blood of the faithful soldiers 
of the Union. But there is one thing I will not do; 
there is one thing before God, I say it reverently, I can- 
not, and dare not do, and that is to put the dagger of 
power back again into their hands, with which they can 
strike once more, as they struck for four years, at my 
nation's heart and my nation's life. Never, no, never ! 
[Cheers.] I want to see some return of love for the 
Union first ; I want to see some aftection for the old 
flag ; I want to see some sorrow for crime. Nay, more ; 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 347 

let me imagine, if possible, that bj some delusion the 
people of the United States should apparently consent 
to abandon Congress, which dared to stand between 
those men and the inner sanctuary of the nation's life, 
they sought to enter with unrepentant love for their 
'lost cause.' When they came up and demanded the 
right to make laws for the men they had failed to kill 
and for the widows and orphans of the men they had 
slain on hundreds of fields of battle — and for refusing 
which we have been denounced — what would have been 
the result had we consented ? Let us look at it. What 
would have been the result in eleven States of the South ? 
Look at Kentucky, as the model after which they would 
be fashioned, where devotion to the Confederacy is the 
sure passport to ofiicial position ; where to have been 
loyal to the Union is to be covered with reproach, and 
exposed to outrage by mobs and by regulators. You 
would have had eleven States where Eebels would hold 
the supreme power. And that is not the worst. You 
would have had freedmen virtually re-enslaved by their 
revived labor and vagrant laws. And that is not the 
worst, disgraceful as that would have been to the nation. 
You would have had every loyal white man in fear of 
his life. And that is not the worst, bad as that would be. 
If England or France, or the allied powers of Europe 
should for any cause declare war against us, to blot us 
out as a nation from the map of the world, and should 
send their fleets and their armies here, the power of those 
eleven States could be given to help our enemies, for 
they could seize the golden opportunity to establish 
their Confederacy with the aid they could thus command 
from abroad. That would have been the result. But it 
is not to be. [' No ! no !'] It is not to be, because the 



34^ Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

people of this country are going to stand by the doc- 
trines that we have maintained. 

" Before discussing the acts of the President of the 
United States, I wish to say something about these elec- 
tions. Our opponents have been firing some cannon 
lately. They haven't had any thing to fire cannon over 
for several years. They didn't fire any over Gettys- 
burg ; they didn't fire any over Yicksburg. I believe 
your Mayor didn't think it was wise even to illuminate 
over Union victories. It might stir up some ^ unpleasant- 
ness.' Some people didn't see so much in those vic- 
tories to rejoice over. They didn't fire cannon over 
the downfall of the rebellion ; but they found occasion 
at last to rejoice in their way. They didn't fire them 
over our victories in Indiana, because in the part of that 
State where I live we increased our Republican majori- 
ties. [Applause.] They fired their cannon very hastily, 
and after they had paid the expenses of the powder, they 
looked around to see what they had been firing over, 
and to count the profit and loss ; and they found they 
had been firing over the election of a Eepublican Legis- 
lature in Pennsylvania. [ Cheers.] They found they had 
been firing over the fact that in the only Congressional 
district of Pennsylvania where a Congressman was to be 
elected they had lost one thousand five hundred of their 
majority of last year. [Cheers.] They found that they 
had fired over the election of a Republican State ticket 
in the State of Ohio. They fired over the election of 
a Republican Governor in Iowa by twelve thousand in^ 
creased majority over that received by his predecessor — 
the last Governor elected having had sixteen thousand 
majority, and the Governor now elected having twenty- 
eight thousand majority. [Cheers.] But I will tell 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 349 

you what they did really fire over. It is this : That a 
majority of the people of Ohio had, by an apportion- 
ment made by Democrats, elected a majority of the 
Legislature of that State. Eather poor results to fire 
over, wasn't it ? Well, I have often thought that it was 
not wise for an army, more than a party, to have a con- 
stant succession of victories. If they did, they might 
draw in their outposts, withdraw their pickets, quarrel 
amono^ themselves, and incur the dans^er and the defeat 
of a surprise by the enemy. It is wise once in a while 
to have a little discipline like this. It has the effect to 
show us the dangers that threaten us, and to compact us 
into an irresistible mass. The victories of the Demo- 
cratic party in 1862, when they carried this country from 
the Atlantic to the Mississippi, after the Emancipation 
Proclamation was issued, when they carried New York, 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, by 
a majority of 65,000 votes, with two-thirds of all their 
Congressmen elected, caused them to shout with joy, 
and say, 'Emancipation is dead and buried!' Oh, no! 
This Republican party, in spite of this reverse, stood by 
it faithfully, fearlessly, because it was right ; and in 1864: 
Emancipation triumphed ; and the Emancipator himself 
was reelected by an overwhelming majority. [Cheers.] 
I have never turned aside to contemplate which was the 
popular, or which was the unpopular side of a ques- 
tion. I would rather follow in that path indicated to us 
by John Bright, the great Commoner of England — [ap- 
plause] — who declares that there is one single and sub- 
lime principle on which all great national questions 
should be settled, that is, the basis of eternal riglit. 
[Hear, hear, and applause.] And in close conformity to 
that was the remark to us of the noble liberal M. 



3 jO Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

Gavsparin, of France, when he said, at the opening of onr 
war for the Union, ' It does not depend on you to suc- 
ceed, but above all, to be right; do what you ought.'' 
[Applause.] And ^gain, in this very hall, our noble and 
martyred chief, in February, 1860, in that noble, con- 
vincing, unanswerable speech, which stands high among 
the records of his most eloquent efforts, closed, as many 
of you may recollect, with that peroration which none 
can forget, and which comes to us to-night with renewed 
force from his grave. ' Let us have faith that Eight 
makes Might, and in that faith let us, to the end, dare to 
stand by the Right.' [Great applause.] The President 
has denounced Congress (and in this he is copied by his 
Democratic followers) as guilty of usurpation. There is 
a phrase which our enemies have applied to us that I 
dislike to name in this presence ; but it is the chief gem 
of Democratic literature in this contest, and, therefore, I 
must refer to it. This Congress is called a ' Eump Con- 
gress.' I have this to say in response — that if we have 
a Rump Congress because these rebels are not allowed 
to legislate for the land which they sought to destroy, we 
have got a Rump President, too — elected by the same 
voters, by the same States, by the same people, precisely, 
that elected this Congress. And what is more, when he 
swung around the circle, talking about this Congress 
being an illegal body, ' hanging,' he said, ' as it were, on 
the verge of the Government,' I have this to reply, that 
if this Congress is an illegal body, then he has himself 
taken money illegally from the Treasury. The Consti- 
tution which he has sworn to support declares that no 
money shall be taken from the Treasury except on ap- 
propriation by law. This Congress has voted him, for 
the last two years, twenty-five thousand dollars as Presi- 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 3 5 1 

dent of- the United States, and every month lie has gone 
to the door of your Treasury and drawn his monthly 
salary, by virtue of this law passed b}^ this Congress. 
And if this is not a legal Congress, he has wrongfully 
taken that money from the Treasury, and should be 
compelled to refund it. [Applause and laughter.] In- 
stead of this Congress being guilty of usurpation, I shall 
prove to you, on the contrary, that for two years it has 
been warring against usurpations — usurpations by the 
Executive ; usurpations without law ; usurpations auto- 
cratic in their character. Some of these are familiar to 
you already, but I feel the necessity of referring to them 
in detail. 

'' The Constitution of the United States divided our 
Government into three branches — the Legislative De- 
partment, composed of the Senate and the House of 
Eepresentatives ; the Executive Department, the Presi- 
dent ; and the Judicial Department, the Supreme Court 
of the United States, and the United States Courts of 
inferior jurisdiction. The Legislative Department is so 
called because it is the law-making branch ; it makes the 
laws. Why is the President called the Executive? 
Because he executes the laws ; because he, unlike those 
of the other departments, is specially sworn to execute 
the laws. That is his peculiar and specific dut3^ I call 
him the President of the United States. I do not use 
the term that others have done, ' acting President ;' be- 
cause I regard him as entitled, by his succession to 
Mr. Lincoln, to the prerogatives and to the privileges of 
the Executive Department of the Government. But 
there is one thing I do rejoice at in my heart of hearts — 
that, deluded as we were in 1864, by his pledges made 
to us, by his declarations in favor of the Union cause, 



352 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

so radical as we deemed Mm, we never elected him 
President of the United States. We elected him Vice- 
President, to preside over the Senate, and give the cast- 
ing vote when it should be required, ^here was one 
man, and only one, that made him President of the 
United States, and that man's name was Wilkes Booth. 
When the bullet of the assassin crashed through the 
noble and generous brain of Abraham Lincoln, there 
was no one who clapped his hands for joy at that foul 
murder, that does not now clap his hands with joj over 
the policy of the man whom Wilkes Booth's act elevated 
from the Yice-Presidency to the position of the Presi- 
dent of the United States. Nor is that all. The last 
wish of that miserable assassin, who sleeps in his dis- 
honored grave, when he murdered your President, was 
to have a man in the Presidential chair over whose 
every act rebels should rejoice with exceeding joy. He 
has passed away ; but if he could come back from the 
silence of the grave, and look upon this country, he 
would send up his pasans of joy that his dying wish had 
been fulfilled. I told you I intended to speak to you 
in regard to the usurpations of the President of the 
United States. When he became President, after the 
surrender of the armies of the rebellion, he immediately 
commenced the work of reconstruction without consulta- 
tion with Congress. They could not meet except by his 
call. He refused to issue it, concluding to go on with 
the work without the authority of law. We looked on, 
anxiously waiting for the fruits of the work. It was 
called at the time 'an experiment.' He was going to 
see what would be the result of it ; and it was finally to 
be submitted to Congress for ratification. His Secre- 
tary of State declared this explicitly to Governor Marvin, 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 2>^2 

of Florida, and Governor Sbarkey, of Mississippi ; and 
when Congress assembled, Mr. Johnson presented us with 
the results of his policy. And what were they ? In 
nearly every State that had been reconstructed under 
his policy, a Governor had been elected who had either 
been in the armies of treason or in the councils of treason 
— but one solitary exception. In every State recon- 
structed by Mr, Johnson, in the legislative department 
the rebels had supreme and unlimited power. In the 
judicial department it was the same. They were tri- 
umphant in every branch of every department of all but 
one of the rebel States reconstructed by Mr. Johnson. 
The Union men were ruled by a rod of iron, and the 
freedmenwere governed bylaws merciless in their char- 
acter, and intended to remit those emancipated slaves to 
a condition that would be worse than that from which 
they had, by the will of the nation, just escaped. Mr. 
Johnson showed us his policy, and said to the American 
Congress, ' These are my jewels.' We looked at them. 
We did not dare, before the country and before the civ- 
ilized world, to say, ' Yea, and amen ' to it. How could 
we? And because we did not, he has warred on us 
ever since, and the highest ambition of his heart now is 
to destroy the party which elevated him from the mili- 
tary Governorship of Tennessee to the Vice-Presidency 
of the Union. He talk about our usurpation ! Usurpa- 
tion ! He said we put those States under military rule ! 
So did the President. He said we required conventions 
to be called. So did the President. He said we re-, 
quired them to submit their Constitutions to the people 
for ratification. So did not the President. He said we 
established a test- vote for suffrage. So did the Presi- 
dent. He said we demanded the ratification of a Con- 



354 ^'^f^ tf Schuyler Colfax. 

stitutional amendment. So did the President — lie doing 
it without law ; we doing it by law — he having no power 
to make a law ; we having by the Constitution the power 
to make laws. Yet he calls us usurpers I That is not 
all. When he came to appoint officers in the Southern 
States, whom did he select ? Did he take the faithful 
Union men, who dared to stand fast against enormous odds 
by the banner of their country ? Oh, no I When he came 
to appoint officers, revenue officers, custom-house officers, 
surveyors, etc., nearly every one of them was taken from 
the traitors of the South, and not from the Union men. 
And those men, thus clothed with power by your Presi- 
dent, turned around to these Union men in the South, 
and said to them, ' You thought, when the old flag came 
back in triumph, you were going to hold positions of 
trust over us. The Government at Washington know 
better than that. They know you haven't any influence. 
They want the men who dared to defy the nation, and to 
waG^e war that cost the blood of hundreds of thousands 
of your Yankee soldiers. You take back-seats ; and if 
we allow you to remain here, you may thank us for the 
permission.' That was the result of his policy. But 
these officers could not take the test-oath. We passed 
a law in 1862 that no man could hold an appointed or 
elective office under the Government unless he' could 
take an oath that he had not voluntarily participated in 
rebellion ; and we put in, furthermore, this section : ' That 
no officer should draw money out of the Treasury until 
he filed this oath.' So, when these men had served, they 
came to the door of the Treasury, and said, ' We want 
our pay, but we cannot take the oath.' They went to 
Johnson, and through his cabinet official he said, ' These 
men held office, but they cannot draw their pay ;' and we 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 355 

said to "him, 'Not one fartliing of the people's money 
shall go into the pockets of these men.' [' Good 1' Ap- 
plause.] And because we said that, he has been war- 
ring upon us ever since, denouncing us. ['Turn him 
out.'] Sometimes those who defend him say he is carry- 
ing out Mr. Lincoln's policy. Look at the States Mr. 
Lincoln attempted to reconstruct during the rebellion — 
Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, and West Virginia, 
carved out of old Yirginia. He placed them all in the 
hands of loyal men. Look at the States 'reconstructed' 
by Mr. Johnson — all but one of them put into the hands 
of rebels — the difference between the brilliant light of 
the sun at noon-day and the darkness of midnight. Mr. 
Lincoln never made Johnson Governor of Tennessee 
until he first made him a Brigadier in the army of the 
United States, confirmed by the Senate. As the Com- 
mander-in-chief of the army he had then the right to 
detail him for this duty. Johnson could have detailed 
any soldier to that duty, from a private to a general, 
under military law; but he had no more power to ap- 
point to a civil ofiice not created by law than any man 
or woman before me to-night. On the 2d of April, 
1866, President Johnson issued his proclamation de- 
claring peace established. He had a number of ivliere- 
ases : he put them all in this — six or eight of them. I 
need not read them; he recites the various proclama- 
tions by which these States were declared in rebellion, 
and then goes on and says : 

"^And whereas the laws can be sustained and en- 
forced therein by proper civil authority, State or Fed- 
eral, and the people of said States are well and loyally 
disposed.* 



2S^ Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

" No doubt they were ' well and loyally disposed.' You 
have seen it when five hundred negroes in the South were 
wantonly killed since we made them free. You have 
seen it in the outrages upon white men because they 
were Union men. You see his policy and its results, 
which culminated at Memphis and New Orleans in the 
murder of white men, whose crime was that they sought 
to reconstruct on a loyal basis. He then adds, ' Whereas 
standing armies, military occupation, martial law, mili- 
tary tribunals, etc., are in times of peace dangerous, etc.' 
Every one knows that but for the army no Union man 
in the South was safe. He then goes on and says that 
peace is established. The Constitution says Congress 
shall have power to declare war, etc. The power to 
declare war carries with it the power to make peace. 
Your fathers knew, if there was to be war, the people 
who were to lay down their lives had the right to say 
when war should be declared and when it should be 
stopped. His proclamation was not worth the paper on 
which it was written. In July, 1862, the Congress of 
the United States passed a law authorizing the Presi- 
dent to issue an Amnesty Proclamation, on such terms 
as he might see fit, for the purpose of ending the war. 
Mr. Lincoln issued one, basing it on this law, and it was 
spurned by the rebels. In January, 1867, not having 
as much faith in Mr. Johnson as we had had in Mr. 
Lincoln, knowing that he was pardoning rebels with the 
very same hand he was striking down Eepublicans, we 
repealed the act we had passed. Then, as if to defy the 
law, he issued this 'amnesty' proclamation for the par- 
don of rebels. A pardon which the President has the 
Constitutional power to grant is no more like an amnesty 
than a marriage license is like a statute. A license 



Life of Schuyler Co fax, 357 

affects only the parties procuring it^ and they use it if 
they please, as a person accepts or rejects a proffered 
pardon. A statute affects the whole community. He 
knew he had no power to issue it. Even Mr. Black, 
who is so constantly at his ear, is reported to have told 
him he had no power to issue it. I suppose he found 
out last year that we didn't want him for President ; so 
perhaps he thought we would have him for King. 
[Laughter.] Therefore, he issued this amnesty procla- 
mation, with a number of 'whereases;' that the laws 
are now enforced in the States that were in insur- 
rection, and the people of the said States are well 
and loyally disposed ; that large standing armies 
and military governments are incompatible with the 
rights guaranteed by the Constitution ; that a retaliatory 
and vindictive policy, inflicting pains and penalties, 
confiscation and disenfranchisement, now as always, can 
only tend to hinder reconciliation ; therefore he declared 
a general amnesty, excepting only some two or three 
hundred persons, with restoration of all their privileges, 
immunities, and rights of property, except as to property 
with regard to slaves. I say that that amnesty procla- 
mation was thrown intentionally by him into the very 
teeth of the people and Congress, to show us how he defied 
us, and how little he remembers or regards his of&cial 
oath. The preamble of the original military bill — 
and the same doctrine is embodied in the two supple- 
mental bills — states that whereas no legal State govern- 
ments ol* adequate protection of life or property now 
exist in the rebel States of Virginia, etc., and whereas it 
is necessary that peace and good order should be en- 
forced in said States, and loyal and republican State 

governments be legally established, therefore, it is pro- 
22 



358 Life of ^Schuyler Colfax, 

vided tbat there shall be five military districts, and that 
those persons who have been perjured as officers of the 
State or the General Government, as well as traitors, 
should not now be voters, but should occupy back-seats. 
This bill declares that no legal governments exist there, 
and this declaration is subsequently repeated in the 
supplemeutal bills. But Mr. Johnson's amnesty procla- 
mation declares expressly that they have civil govern- 
ments there. Although in that bill we demand the 
disfranchisement for the present of certain classes of 
rebels, yet in the very teeth of that law he hurls defiance 
at that provision. I want to call your attention to his 
oa<ii. After Congress has passed a law, no President 
has a right to any ' policy,' except to carry out the law. 
His oath is prescribed in the fifth section of the second 
article of the Constitution. It gives to Congress the 
power to make all laws necessary and proper to carry 
into execution all the powers vested by the Constitution 
in the Government of the United States, or any depart- 
ment or officer thereof. There cannot be a department 
or officer of the Government with any power except by 
authority of the Congress of the United States, and that 
only. The Constitution gives to the President the 
power, after Congress has passed bills, to veto them; 
but if Congress repasses them by the two-thirds vote, 
then his oath as President operates as the Constitu- 
tion prescribes. What is that oath? He 'shall take 
care that the laws be faithfully executed.' Our fathers 
made that instrument for war as well as for peace, for 
the hurricane as well as the calm — so made that instru-' 
ment that I have never thought it necessary to go out- 
side of the Constitution for authority for all that we 
have done, but believed that the power to declare war 



Life of Schuyler' Colfax, 3 59 

carries with it all the power of the laws of nations in 
war. That is all I want. [Applause.] Our fathers, 
with wise sagacity, thought there might be a President 
some time who would not like the laws which Congress 
had passed, and might wish to set up a policy of his own 
against them, and they required that every President 
should swear that he would execute the laws. They 
did not stop there. They said, ' You shall swear that 
you will faithfully execute these laws, though they 
may be contrary to your policy. Your oath as Execu- 
tive requires you not only to execute them, but io faith- 
fully execute them.' That means with zeal and fidelity 
and honesty. They did not stop there. They insert 
words which are found nowhere else, peculiar words, 
quaint words, that do not occur anywhere else in your 
national Constitution. They said, he shall swear that 
he will 'take care that the laws be faithfully executed.' 
It shall be the object of his heart's zeal to do it with 
the whole vigor of his nature, with the whole power of 
the Government, enlisted in the work of 'taking care 
that the laws be faithfully executed.' Who will say 
that Andrew Johnson has faithfully kept that oath? 
[' No.'] ISTo. He would scarcely say so himself. [Ap- 
plause.] There has been a good deal of misrepresenta- 
tion of what I said in Ohio. I will say again exactly 
what I said there. I do not intend to take back my 
words. I said that when Congress assembled again, if 
they find that the laws cannot be executed, that the 
President will not execute them, but on the contrary 
uses his Executive power to resist the laws of Congress, 
and to keep the country in turmoil, then I said that there 
was only one resort, and our fathers put upon us the 
responsibility of that resort. [Great cheering. A voice 



360 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

— ' ImpeacTi him.'] What I have said has been taken 
down. I am not responsible for what others see fit to 
put into my mouth ; but am responsible for what I say, 
and will not take back one word. [Applause.] 

That is not all. You had as Secretary of War one on 
whose strong arm Lincoln leaned in every hour of trial. 
[Tremendous cheering.] You don't know how much you 
owed to that Secretary of War. Immersed in your busi- 
ness, your daily duties, you took up your paper in the 
morning and read that one Union General with his brave 
followers had defeated an army of the rebellion, and in 
your morning orisons you thanked God that the hour of 
our deliverance drew nigh. You little knew how much 
labor, foresight, and vigilance were required to keep the 
Commissary and the Quartermaster's Department amply 
supplied, perhaps by a single line of railroad ; to have a 
vast accumulation in store for reverses as well as for 
victories ; and the Secretary had to provide for them, to 
furaish the ammunition, the cannon, the rifles and com- 
missary stores, and a large surplus of all these. Large 
quantities were required to be stored, and not only 
these, but large medical supplies must be forthcoming 
after a battle for the thousands lying on the battle-field. 
Every one of these needed auxiliaries to your army were 
keys under the hand or the fingers of the Secretary of 
War. Day and night, for weeks before a battle, he was 
engaged in the work, and the rebels hated him because 
of his stern, unflinching zeal, and because Abraham 
Lincoln loved him — that was enough. But there was a 
man came after Lincoln, Andrew Johnson ; and because 
Mr. Stanton would not follow him in his wicked apos- 
tacy ; because he stood by the laws and was hated bj 
tlie rebels, and as they had the ear of Johnson, he 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 361 

turned him out, and tbe hope of the rebels was fulfilled 
for a time at least. On the 21st day of November — only 
twenty-nine days more — I count the days day by day — 
[cheers] — on the 21st of November the Congress of the 
United States will again assemble ; it will again resume 
its legislative authority and power in those halls 
[applause], and when twenty days expire from that time, 
Edwin M. Stanton will go back again into the War 
Department. [Tremendous and prolonged cheering.] 
And I can say, in the language of Watts' hymns: 

" 'Fly swiftly round, ye wheels of time, 
And speed the welcome day.' 

" But there is another General — a General who, when 
I mention his name, every loyal heart in this audience 
will throb with joy and emotion — it is Phil. Sheridan — 
[hearty cheers] — a man who, by his brilliant dash and 
magnetic power over his men, wrested victory from the 
very jaws of defeat in the Shenandoah — a man whose 
name was ever the synonym for success — a man who, 
as the Military Commander of Louisiana and Texas, 
protected the defenceless and rebuked the disloyal — a 
man who demanded that traitors should take back-seats 
there, and who allowed two Governors to write ' ex' be- 
fore their names [laughter and applause] by turning 
them out of. office — a man who breasted and turned 
back the tide of disloyalty that sought to sweep over 
those States. [Applause.] But they came up to 
Andrew Johnson and they said to him, ^This man, 
Sheridan, is making us traitors take back-seats in 
Louisiana ; he has turned out Mayor Monroe, whom you 
pardoned; he has turned out Judge Abel, and he has 
turned out the Governors of Louisiana and Texas, and 



62 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 



wants loyal men to rule down there ; we don't like him ; 
he don't carry out your policy, and we want you to turn 
him out.' And Andrew Johnson said, ' He has refused 
to carry out my policy, and therefore I will remove him.* 
He did remove him, and sought to disgrace and dishonor 
him, but when Sheridan came North he was welcomed 
with an ovation such as any conqueror might well be 
proud of. [Applause.] That is not all. There was 
another General — he used to be a Democratic Congress- 
man from the city of New York [loud cheers] — always 
a patriot, differing widely with many of us in the years 
that passed before the rebellion, but ever loving his 
country, however he might differ from others in regard 
to policy. But when the war broke out he loved his 
country more than he did party, like many thousands 
and tens of thousands of Democrats all over the land, 
[cheers,] and he enrolled himself bravely under the 
flag, and said, 'Myself, my life, my limbs, my heart's 
blood, I offer them on the altar of my country.' [Cheers.] 
On a hundred battle-fields the clear, sharp, clarion tones 
of his voice, which you know so well, rang out, inspir- 
ing his soldiers to rally for their country and their 
sacred cause, and on the field of Gettysburg, where for 
three days the scales of national life or death hung 
trembling in the balance, when we scarcely knew 
whether we would have a country saved or a country 
lost, ever in the front of the battle, Daniel E. Sickles, 
[hearty cheers,] brave among the bravest, stood heroic- 
ally, until at last a cannon-ball of the enemy shattered 
his limb, and I saw last spring the barn in which, after 
he had reddened the soil with his blood, the amputating 
instrument of the surgeon severed the limb from the 
body; and sent him out to totter on a weary crutch the 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, ^6;^ 

remaining years of his life, till tbe grave closes over his 
body. He commanded in North and South Carolina. 
His first act there, and one for which I honor him, and 
one for which I know you will honor him, was to annul 
the laws under which they were whipping white and 
black men for petty offences. [Cheers.] He said it was 
a disgrace to the civilization and Christianity of the age. 
With ill-disguised reluctance, with unconcealed aversion, 
they yielded to the military power in the orders of 
Daniel B. Sickles. He did not stop there. He saw their 
processions passing up and down the streets of Charles- 
ton, that disloyal city, with the Confederate flag waving 
over them, the emblem of their lost cause, and the por- 
trait of Stonewall Jackson and their other Generals 
borne in their midst; and at last, when his righteous 
anger could be restrained no longer, he issued an order 
and said — whether you like that flag or not, the flag of 
the Union shall be before my head -quarters, and as your 
procession passes every man of you shall bare your head 
and bow as you pass before it. [Wild cheers.] And so 
the rebels came again to Washington, [laughter,] and 
they said to Mr. Johnson ' We don't like this man we 
have got in North and South Carolina. He does not 
carry out your policy down there. He believes in the 
laws of this Congress ; he executes those laws ; he in- 
tends that none but loyal men shall have power there. 
We want you to turn him out.' And Andrew Johnson, 
forgetting the fact that the salvation of our country was 
owing to the sacrifices of those brave men, whom, one 
by one, he thus ' kicked out of office,' seeking to dishonor 
them, turned him out and sent him back here, to serve 
hereafter, with the stars off his shoulders, as a Colonel 
of the Veteran Reserve Corps. [' Shame,' and cheers for 



364 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

Sickles.] That is the reward he has given to your 
faithful servants. Now, I have only to read to you a 
single sentence from the father of the Constitution. It 
is not in my language, but James Madison's. He says : 
' Wanton removal of meritorious officers would subject 
the President to impeachment and removal from his own 
'high trust.' [Cheers.] Somebody in this crowd asked 
me about the army in Maryland. I suppose you will 
hear about that from the eloquent gentleman who is to 
follow me, and who is from that State, (if I ever get 
through with my speech, and your many plaudits 
lengthen it,) but I have something to say about it, be- 
cause I have no doubt you have all heard something I 
have been charged with saying upon the subject. I am 
now going to repeat what I said before. In the month 
of September last I read in the two organs of your 
President at Washington, the morning organ, The 
National Intelligencer, and the evening organ. The Union, 
threats in regard to the Congress of the United States. 
The National Intelligencer said: 'If Congress ever again 
convenes.^ These are significant words and mean that it 
did not know whether our master was going to allow 
us to convene or not. The Union uttered this language 
which I cut out and have here to read to you. On the 
31st of August last it said : 

'' ' Men of America, we call upon you in God's name 
and the name of liberty to rouse, to organize and pre- 
pare to meet this insidious, heartless tyrant,' (speaking 
of the Congress of the United States.) 'If necessary, 
consecrate the dying struggles of liberty and constitu- 
tional law with your blood.' 

" On the 2d of September this evening organ of the 
President again said : 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 365 

"'The Eepublic is not to be utterly destroyed while 
Andrew Johnson is President. * * * * Gongress will 
go out of sight in the twinkling of an eye.^ 

" And then I read of this army in Maryland, where at 
the opening of the rebellion the first blood of your 
patriot soldiers was spilt and dyed the stones of its 
streets as they passed through Baltimore to save the 
Capital of an imperilled country. I do not know why 
such an army is being organized : I do not know why its 
battalions are marching and drilling day and night by 
the beat of drum, and its batteries of artillery are rum- 
bling through the streets. I do not believe there is any 
one who dare execute these threats that I have read to 
you from these organs of the President of the United 
States. But this I did say in Ohio, that if any one in this 
broad land by revolutionary force destroys the Congress 
of the United States, overthrows the law-making power 
of this country, and drives it from its halls by illegal 
military power — I care not who that man is, be he high 
or low, if we have a country, he will afterward be tried 
as a traitor, and convicted as a traitor, he will die a 
traitor's death and fill a traitor's grave. [Immense 
applause.] I have no fear of any such thing. I use no 
threats. I am not in the habit of doing it, but I utter 
that prediction, knowing, as I believe, the will of the 
people, and what their own hearts and consciences would 
demand. There has been one rebellion, that is only 
remembered in broken hearts and crowded grave-yards, 
and weeds of mourning, and vacant chairs in every 
household, and weary crutches, and empty sleeves, and 
pallid faces, and wasted frames, a heavy debt, and taxes: 
but if there is to be another rebellion after this, if the 
law-making power, which is the people speaking through 



^66 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

their Senators and Representatives, is to be trampled 
under foot by revolutionary force, I believe in my heart 
there will be some example made to go down into Ameri- 
can history as a warning, that no man hereafter shall 
gamble with the peace of this country and lose nothing 
by the stake. [Cheers.] Let me, before I draw to a con- 
clusion, [' go on,'] allude to some remarks of the 
distino-uished President of the Democratic State Con- 
vention, recently assembled, Gov. Seymour. [Laughter 
and hisses.] You hiss here — now, out in Indiana we 
never hiss, we do our hissing by our votes at the polls. 
[Cheers.] That is a great deal the best place. [Applause.] 
But Gov. Seymour had a great deal to say in that speech 
about that enormous debt. He talked about thousands 
of millions of debt and hundreds of millions of taxes. I 
grant it ; but I say that the Democratic voters are the 
last men under the heavens to talk about the debt and 
the taxes. I know that you are taxed in basket and in 
store. I know that yoa are taxed on goods imported 
from abroad and on your industry at home. I know 
you are taxed on tea and coffee. I know you are taxed 
on every paper you use in commercial transactions; 
but you are taxed because there was a Democratic 
rebellion — Democratic in its birth. Democratic in its 
life, and Democratic in its death. Democratic in its 
inception, it was fostered and kept alive by Democratic 
aid and sympathy, and when it died it was wept over 
only by Democrats. [Laughter and applause.] I should 
think that every cup of tea and coffee these Democratic 
orators drink would blister their mouths as it reminds 
them af the fact. [Renewed laughter and cheers.] Every 
stamp you put upon a deed, a check, or a mortgage, is a 
Democratic sticking-plaster to remind you of a Demo 



• Life of Schuyler Colfax, 367 

cratic rebellion. [Lartgliter and cheers.] It was a 
Democratic rebellion. What party was in power when 
the rebellion broke out ? The Democratic party. Yon 
had a Democratic President, and he had a Democratic 
Cabinet. Where was your Democratic President? His 
arm hung nerveless by his side, and when the country 
was wanting to see him take the traitors by the throat 
and strangle the monster they were raising, he issued 
a proclamation, through his message, that he had no 
right to prevent a State from seceding ; and giving them 
this assurance that he would not interfere, they went on 
and organized their Confederate Government, and on the 
18th of February, Jefferson Davis was sworn in as 
President, and Alex. H. Stephens as Vice-President of 
the Southern Confederacy, two weeks before Abraham 
Lincoln was sworn in as President of the United States. 
A Democratic Secretary of the Treasury, Howell Cobb, 
had stabbed the credit of the Government in the hope 
that it would not be able to borrow money to put men 
into the field, and arm and equip them. A Democratic 
Secretary of War, John B. Floyd, had emptied the 
Northern arsenals and filled the arsenals of the South, so 
as to disarm the North and arm the South ; he had sent 
his friends, in the South, cannon and hundreds of thou- 
sands of guns, so that when the Eebellion broke out 
they could shoot down every one of you with your own 
guns, that dared to be faithful to your country, [' that's 
so,'] and he had scattered your armies to the very ends 
of the Republic, so that they could not be recalled in 
time to be at the call of the incoming President. 

" A Democratic Secretary of the Navy, Isaac Toucey, 
had sent our navy to the ends of the earth. Its ships 
were in tho Pacific, in the Mediterranean Sea, in the 



^68 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

Chinese Sea, in the South Sea — everywhere but within 
call. Such was the condition of things that, as I was in- 
formed by Mr. Lincoln himself, when he came into 
office, he could find but a regiment or two within reach 
to defend the country, and only one frigate of all the 
navy which cost us $13,000,000 per year, and that the 
Brooklyn, which drew too much water to enter Charles- 
ton harbor. Your Government was bound hand, and 
foot, defenceless at the feet of its enemies. That is not 
all. Every State that rebelled had a Democratic Gov- 
ernor. Is not that a singular coincidence ? And every 
State that had a Democratic Governor rebelled except 
Kentucky and Missouri, and these two States refused to 
answer the call of the President for troops, the Governor 
of one of them (Missouri) going out into the rebellion, 
as the heart of the Governor of Kentucky had gone be- 
fore. That is not all. Every leading officer in that 
Confederacy was a Democrat. The President, Jeff. Davis, 
was a Democrat. The Yice-President, Alex. H. Stevens, 
was a Democrat ; the Speaker of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, Thomas S. Bocock, was a Democrat; the 
Cabinet Ministers were all Democrats ; Memminger, of 
South Carolina, was a Democrat ; Benjamin, of Louisiana, 
was a Democrat ; Mallory, of Florida, was a Democrat ; 
Reagan of Texas, was a Democrat, and Sedden, of "Vir- 
ginia, was a Democrat. Every one of them, except one, 
were Democratic members of Congress, and all of them 
were Democrats. [Applause.] The chief commanders 
of their armies were Democrats. Lee was a Democrat ; 
Beauregard was a Democrat ; Breckenridge, a Democratic 
Yice-President, who had himself, solemnly, under his 
oath of office, declared Abraham Lincoln the constitu- 
tionally elected President of the United States, and then 



I 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 369 

drew bis sword for the Confederacy. Hardie, Pember- 
ton, Magruder — Democrats all through and through. Its 
foreign Ministers were Democrats. Slidell, of Louisiana, 
was a Democrat, Mason, of Virginia, was a Democrat, 
Eost, of Louisiana, was a Democrat — all of them Demo- 
crats. [Applause.] That is not all. Every man in the 
North who shouted 'No coercion,' and said you could 
not put down the rebellion, every man who gave aid, 
comfort, and sympathy to this wicked rebellion, to the 
last mother's son of them, every one of them was a 
Democrat — not a single one Republican, thank God. 

"In this same platform of the Democratic party, 
they say that they indorse the principles of the Kotzka 
case. They do, do they ? The principle of the Kotzka 
case is written upon our banner, and not upon theirs. 
[Applause.] What was^ that principle ? A poor emi- 
grant who had come to our shores, and declared his in- 
tention to' become an American citizen, had gone back 
to Austria, and the minions of Austria had laid their 
hands upon him, and had said, * You are an Austrian 
subject — you shall be subject to the Emperor's will — 
you shall go into his army.' When the news came 
back to America, though the man was friendless, with- 
out kith or kin, and with no means, he sent his wail of 
distress across the Atlantic, and Congress and the Gov- 
ernment sent back word to the Emperor of Austria — ' If 
you dare to lay your finger upon that man — if you dare 
to subject him to your authority, we will send our armies 
and our navies to your shores, if it costs us millions 
upon millions.' [Cheers.] That is the Kotzka case. Now 
I want to read to you what Secretary of State Marcy 
said on that subj-ect in his letter written in 1853, four- 
teen years ago : 



^yo Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

" ' Whenever an individual becomes clotTied with our 
national character, be he a native-born or naturalized 
citizen, an exile driven from his early home by political 
oppression, or an emigrant enticed from it by the hopes 
of a better future for himself and his posterity, he can 
claim the protection of this Government. * * For it is 
its duty to make its nationality respected by other na- 
tions, and respected m every quarter of the globe.' 

<< Why ? These are the reasons ; 

" ' Such domiciled citizen pays the same price for his 
protection as native-born or naturalized citizens pay for 
theirs. He is under the bonds of allegiance to the 
country of his residence, and if he breaks them incurs 
the same penalties; he owes the same obedience to the 
civil laws and must discharge the duties they impose 
upon him; his property is in the same way, and to the 
same extent as theirs, liable to contribute to the support 
of the Government. In war hfe shares equally with 
them in the calamities which may befall his country ; 
his services may be required for its defence, his life may 
be perilled and sacrificed in maintaining its rights and 
vindicating its honor.' — Marcy on Kotzka^ 1865. 

" We have written this upon our bann-ers, we say, 
that every man who sheds his blood under it shall have 
the protection of that banner. [Cheers.] And that 
brings me again to this Democratic party. I want to 
show, now, how it has trampled upon these truths of its 
fathers, and turned back upon the principles upon which 
it was founded, in the good old times when it used to 
claim that it was a party that protected the poor. Look 
at its last years of subserviency to slavery. God's poor 
it trampled under foot, and when we struck the chains 
from them, they clustered round the slave-owners and 
tried to keep the fetters upon the limbs of God's poor. 



Life of Schuyler Colfax* 371 

They talk about being opposed to class-legislation. 
Why, they have been for legislation for tho slaveholders, 
the worst elass-legis-lation that ever disgraced any land 
on tho face of the earth. They talk of a Government of 
the people, and yet they sympathized with the rebels, a 
minority against the Government established by a ma- 
jority of the people. They talk about equal and exact 
justice to all men. Why any of you go t© a Democratic 
convention and try the experiment ; offer a resolution : 
* Resolved, in the language of Jefferson's Inaugural, that 
we demand, and will stand by to the end, equal and 
exact justice for all men,' and they will hiss you out of 
their convention. (Laughter and applause.) They talk 
about standing by the Declaration of Independence. 
Jefferson, the father of their party, was the writer of that 
instrument. He wrote that with his pen which Wash- 
ington afterwards carved out so gloriously with his 
sword. But if he could rise from the grave to-day, and 
look at the men who claim to be his children, he would 
turn round and say: 'I never knew you.' 

*^ Go into a Democratic convention and try it ; offer a 
resolution, ' Resolved, that we declare, in the language 
of Jefferson, that all men are created equal, and that 
governments derive all their just powers from the 
consent of the governed,' and they will turn you out as 
abolitionists. And that is not all. They predict evil, 
and then they try to verify it. They said you could not 
subjugate the South, and they fought every war policy 
of the Government intended to subjugate it. They had 
no rejoicing for your victories ; no sorrows for your 
reverses, no eulogies for your heroes, no war but with 
Mr. Lincoln. They said you could not reconstruct 
when the war was over ; and when you passed the laws. 



372 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

tliey went over the land fostering discord and en- 
couraging unrepentant rebels to defy the laws. They 
said you could not pay the public debt, and they dis- 
couraged subscriptions to the Grovernment loan, and said 
that greenbacks would finally be good for nothing, that 
it would take a hatful of them to buy a hat. [Laughter 
and applause.] That is not all. At the very opening 
of the rebellion Jeff. Davis shouted 'No coercion/ and 
so did the Democrats of the North. When Abraham 
Lincoln put negroes into the army to fight, Jeff. Davis 
denounced it ; so did the Democrats. When Mr. Lincoln 
issued the Emancipation Proclamation, Jefi*. Davis de- 
nounced it; so did the Democrats. When Jeff. Davis 
said this was a negro war, the Democrats echoed his 
words and said : ' This is a negro war.' When Jeff. Davis 
denounced Abraham Lincoln as a tyrant and despot, the 
Democrats echoing his words said, ' Abraham Lincoln is 
a tyrant and despot.' Jeff. Davis ridiculed the green- 
backs ; so did the Democrats ; and at last Jeff. Davis 
said: 'You cannot conquer the South,' and then the 
Democrats met in convention at Chicago — and do you 
remember when Andrew Jackson lived he thrilled the 
national heart and thrills it to-day with that motto 
which will live as long as his name is remembered and 
honored, as it will be as a patriot: ' The Union, it must 
and shall be preserved.' [Cheers.] And these men 
went to Chicago, claiming to be the descendants of 
Andrew Jackson politically, and in the very crisis of 
your national agony, when you had 600,000 men in the 
field or dying in hospitals, who were calling to us, * Give 
us aid, send down more men ; we will die here, so that 
the nation shall live.' And the answer came from the 
Chicago Convention, ' You cannot put down the rebel- 



' Life of Schuyler Colfax, 373 

lion ; we declare that the war is a failure, and we demand 
a cessation of hostilities.' I turn gladly from this dark 
picture I have painted to you of the usurpations of your 
President and the recreancy of those who called them- 
selves the Democratic party, to that party we love in our 
heart of hearts. Oh my friends, its victories are en- 
shrined in our history. You must tear out from the 
annals of our country its brightest pages, before posterity 
shall forget the victories and the bright deeds of this 
noble party, of which you and I are part and parcel. 
[Immense applause.] My friends, you may all pass 
away ; this vast throng that is listening to me so kindly, 
and so attentively, may all be gathered, as we all shall be, 
under the clods of the valley ; but the deeds of our great 
organization shall live in all history, brightening in the 
eye of posterity until age after age shall have passed 
away ; and your children's children shall rise up and 
call you blessed, because amid all the perils of war 
you dared to strike at Slavery, and redeemed this 
fair land so gloriously that, from ocean to ocean, and 
from the snows of the North to where the flowers bloom 
in perpetual spring, there lives no man who can call 
himself master, or call another his slav(^*" [Long-con- 
tinued applause.] 
28 



J 74 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

LETTER TO GOVERNOR BAKER — NOMINATED BY INDIANA 
REPUBLICAN CONVENTION FOR VICE-PRESIDENT — CHI- 
CAGO NATIONAL UNION REPUBLICAN CONVENTION — 
PLATFORM OF THE CONVENTION — NOMINATION OF 
GRANT AND COLFAX. 

On the fifteenth of February, 1868, Mr. Colfax wrote 
to Governor Baker, of Indiana, the following letter, 
which was read in the State Kepnblican Convention of 
Indiana, that met at Indianapolis, February 20th, 1868 : 

" His Excellency Governor Baker : 

" My Dear Sir : I should be glad to accept your kind 
invitation, and thus enjoy the privilege of looking into 
the faces of the representative men of our organization 
in Indiana, when they come together next Thursday in 
their biennial convention. But the rules of the House 
do not allow its presiding officer to be absent during 
its sessions, and I must therefore deny myself this great 
pleasure. It may not be inappropriate, on the threshold 
of the important campaign before us, to look back for a 
few minutes at those deeds and triumphs of our young 
and patriotic party which are garnered up in our na- 
tional history, and which no defamation by our enemies 
can ignore or obscure. 

" When the Eebellion, with its Democratic President, 
Democratic Cabinet officers, and Democratic Generals, 
threw down the gauntlet at the feet of the nation they 
had resolved to destroy, and when the Democratic 
leaders of the North, in reply, exclaimed ^ No coercion/ 



' Life of Schuyler Colfax. 375 

it was t"he Union Republican party that wrote on its ban- 
ners, ' The last man and the last dollar, if need be ;' and 
the unconquerable armies their Congressional legislation 
called to the field, finally ' coerced ' the rebellion into 
subjection. 

" In the darkest days of the struggle, when at every 
street- corner we were tauntingly told by Democrats, 
* You can't conquer the South,' there was one party that 
never despaired of the Republic, and that party was the 
one whose delegates now meet at our State capital. 

" When unprecedented and onerous taxation became 
necessary to maintain our credit, to pay and supply our 
heroic soldiers, we dared to defy the prejudice which 
every Democratic speaker and editor attempted to in- 
flame against the burdens of taxation ; and, thus daring, 
triumphed. 

" When conscription laws became a military necessity, 
to fill up our regiments decimated again and again by 
the bullets of the enemy and the diseases of the camp, 
the siege and the march, and when the land was filled 
with Democratic denunciations of these laws, we risked 
popularity, victory, and all, by defending them as 
bravely as our veterans defended the country in the field. 

" When Mr. Lincoln at last struck at slavery as the 
cause of all our woes, as well as the right arm of the 
rebellion, and when Democratic orators and writers most 
scandalously and persistently calumniated us as having 
converted the war for the Union into an abolition war 
to free negroes, we fearlessly allied our cause to that of 
the humble and the helpless, and Providence rewarded 
us for our fidelity by that brilliant succession of triumphs 
which gave victory to the Union as well as freedom to 
the slave. 



^^6 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

'* When the National Convention of our opponents at 
Chicago dared to hang out the white flag of surrender, 
by proclaiming the war a failure, and demanding an 
immediate cessation of hostilities, we promptly accepted 
the issue. And the soldier with his cartridge-box, and 
the voter with the ballot-box, united in stamping their 
indignant condemnation on the disgraceful avowal. 

" When the Government was compelled to issue bonds 
by the hundreds of millions for the preservation of our 
national existence, Democrats ridiculed them as worth- 
less, and cautioned the people against risking their means 
in them. But the loyal people were deaf to their warn- 
ings ; and now the same party denounce them as having 
made too good an investment in their purchase. 

" When 'greenbacks' were authorized by a Eepublican 
Congress, who can forget the Democratic predictions 
that it would ultimately take a hatful of them to buy a 
hat ? And now they have the assurance to seek to make 
political capital out of their popularity. 

" When the Thirty-ninth Congress rejected the Presi- 
dent's policy of reconstruction, and insisted on one which 
should embody constitutional guarantees for the future, 
with full protection for all who loved the flag and the 
Union, our enemies denounced us as wishing to postpone 
reconstruction. Now these same Democrats, with their 
ally, the President, are striving to put every possible 
stumbling-block in the way of the return of these self- 
exiled States. 

" When ' the Fourteenth Article' was proposed as an 
amendment to the Constitution — embodying no manda- 
tory suffrage enactment, but protecting equally the civil 
rights of all, native-born and naturalized, making a voter 
in Indiana just as potential as one in South Carolina, and 



Life of Schuyler Colfax. 2II 

no more, and barring the door of the Treasury against 
any payments for emancipated slaves or the rebel debt, 
the whole Democratic party denounced it, and urged the 
South to spurn it, as they did. Now the two Democratic 
States of Kentucky and Maryland demand payment, out 
of the people's taxes in the Treasury, for the slaves the 
nation emancipated ; and the two Democratic Legisla- 
tures of Ohio and New Jersey endeavor to withdraw the 
assent of those States to this beneficent Constitutional 
Amendment, leaving the door open for the presentation 
of these Democratic claims if a Democratic Congress 
could be chosen. 

" I will not extend this letter by a defence of the Con- 
gressional policy of reconstruction, for Senator Morton's 
able vindication of it has covered the whole ground 
unanswerably. Suf&ce it to say that Congress, having 
authorized the suffrage of every free man in the South- 
ern States, rebels and all, except those who, by violating 
official oaths, had added perjury to treason, and the 
Democratic party having denounced us for this limited 
and temporary disfranchisement, the same party shouts 
its rejoicings over the fact that the remainder of the 
unrepentant rebels in Alabama have recently and 
voluntarily disfranchised themselves, in the vain attempt 
to prevent the reorganization of that State on a loyal 
basis. 

" Nor is this all. The President, now in full sympa- 
thy with the same Democratic party which opposed his 
election — the same person who, as a candidate, declared 
that treason should be made odious, but who, as Chief 
Magistrate, is the hope and admiration of every rebel 
in the land — whose oath binds him* to take care that 
the laws be faithfully executed,' and who keeps it by 



378 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

striking down officer after officer for the performance of 
this duty — who retains in office and under salary as his 
Attorney-General a gentleman who says publicly that 
he will not appear before the Court to defend ' the laws' 
from hostile attack — (despite his an ti- Stanton message, in 
which he claims that these Executive officers should be 
in unison with him) — stands at last self-convicted before 
the country as having striven to induce the General of 
our armies to defy a law he did not himself dare to 
resist. Signally failing in this, his Democratic support- 
ers unite in bitter denunciations of that single-hearted 
and illustrious offiqer, with epithets which I will not soil 
these pages by repeating. But the heart of the country, 
always generous and just, turns towards this gallant 
and slandered Commander, with even more affection 
than before, and longs for the hour when, at the ballot- 
box, the people will vindicate his fair fame from these 
malignant aspersions, and call him to that seat of power 
and responsibility which has been honored by the Father 
of the Country thatour greatest soldier saved. 

"And the Congress to whose fidelity and inflexible 
firmness the nation, despite the criticism of friend or 
foe, owes the prevention of rebel reconstruction in the 
South, will, instead of taking any backward step, ' speak 
to the people that they go forward,' until every star on 
our banner, paled though they may have been by 
treason, shall shine with that brilliancy which only 
loyalty insures. " Yery truly yours, 

'' Schuyler Colfax." 

The Eepublican State Convention of Indiana, in har- 
mony with the action of all the Eepublican State Con- 
ventions, instructed its delegates to cast the vote of the 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 210 

State for General Grant for President. Witli like zeal 
and unanimity they also instructed their delegates to 
cast the vote of Indiana for Mr. Colfax for the Vice- 
Presidency. 

The National Union Eepublican Convention met in 
Chicago on Wednesday, May 20th, 1868. There were 
present delegates from all the States and Territories. 
They numbered six hundred and fifty. The following 
was the platform of principles adopted: 

" The National Eepublican party of the United States, 
assembled in National Convention in the city of Chicago^ 
on the 21st day of May, 1868, make the following decla- 
ration of principles : 

*' I. "We congratulate the country on the assured suc- 
cess of the Eeconstruction policy of Congress, as evinced 
by the adoption, in the majority of the States lately in 
rebellion, of Constitutions securing Equal, Civil, and 
Political Eights to all, and it is the duty of the Govern- 
ment to sustain those institutions and to prevent the 
people of such States from being remitted to a state of 
anarchy. 

"II. The guarantee by Congress of Equal Suffrage to 
all loyal men at the South, was demanded by every con- 
sideration of public safety, of gratitude, and of justice, 
and must be maintained ; while the question of Suffrage 
in all the loyal States properly belongs to the people of 
those States. 

"III. We denounce all forms of repudiation as a na- 
tional crime ; and the national honor requires the pay- 
ment of the public indebtedness in the uttermost good 
faith to all creditors at home and abroad, not only ac- 
cording to the letter, but the spirit of the laws under 
which it was contracted. 



380 Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

"ly. It is due to the Labor of the ISTation that taxa- 
tion should be equalized, and reduced as rapidly as the 
national faith will permit. 

"V. The National Debt contracted, as it has been, 
for the preservation of the Union for all time to come, 
should be extended over a fair period for redemption ; 
and it is the duty of Congress to reduce the rate of in- 
terest thereon, whenever it can be honestly done. 

" VI. That the best policy to diminish our burden of 
debt is to so improve our credit that capitalists will seek 
to loan us money at lower rates of interest than we now 
pay, and must continue to pay so long as repudiation, 
partial or total, open or covert, is threatened or sus- 
pected. 

" YII. The Government of the United States should 
be administered with the strictest economy; and the 
corruptions which have been so shamefully nursed and 
fostered by Andrew Johnson, call loudly for radical re- 
form. 

"YIII. "We profoundly deplore the untimely and 
tragic death of Abraham Lincoln, and regret the acces- 
sion to the Presidency of Andrew Johnson, who has 
acted treacherously to the people who elected him and 
the cause he was pledged to support ; who has usurped 
high legislative and judicial functions; who has refused 
to execute the laws ; who has used his high office to in- 
duce other officers to ignore and violate the laws ; who 
has employed his executive powers to render insecure 
the property, the peace, liberty and life of the citizen ; 
who has abused the pardoning power; who has de- 
nounced the National Legislature as unconstitutional; 
who has persistently and corruptly resisted, by qn^tj 
means in his power, every proper attempt at the recon- 



Life of Schuyler Co fax. 3 S i 

struction of the States lately in rebellion; who has per- 
verted the public patronage into an engine of wholesale 
corruption ; and who has been justly impeached for high 
crimes and misdemeanors, and properly pronounced 
guilty thereof by the vote of thirty five Senators. 

" IX. The doctrine of Great Britain and other Euro- 
pean powers that, because a man is once a subject he is 
always so, must be resisted at every hazard by the 
United States, as a relic of feudal times, not authorized 
by the laws of nations, and at war with our national 
honor and independence. Naturalized citizens are enti- 
tled to protection in all their rights of citizenship, as 
though they were native-born ; and no citizen of the 
United States, native or naturalized, must be liable to 
arrest and imprisonment by any foreign power for acts 
done or words spoken in this country ; and, if so arrested 
and imprisoned, it is the duty of the Government to in- 
terfere in his behalf. 

" X. Of all who were faithful in the trials of the late 
war, there were none entitled to more especial honor 
than the brave soldiers and seamen who endured the 
hardships of campaign and cruise, and imperilled their 
lives in the service of the country; the bounties and 
pensions provided by the laws for these brave defenders 
of the nation are obligations never to be forgotten ; the 
widows and orphans of the gallant dead are i:he wards 
of the people — a sacred legacy bequeathed to the nation's 
protecting care. 

"XI. Foreign immigration, which in the past has 
added so much to the wealth, development and resources 
and increase of power to this republic, the asylum of 
the oppressed of all nations, should be fostered and 
encouraged by a liberal and j ust policy. 



382 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

"XII. This Convention declares itself io sympathy 
with all oppressed peoples struggling for their rights. 

" Unanimously added, on motion of General Schurz : 

"Eesolved, That we highly commend the spirit of 
magnanimity and forbearance with which men who have 
served in the Rebellion, but who now frankly and hon- 
estly co-operate with us in restoring the peace of the 
country and reconstructing the Southern State Govern- 
ments upon the basis of Impartial Justice and Equal 
Rights, are received back into the communion of the 
loyal people ; and we favor the removal of the disquali- 
fications and restrictions imposed upon the late rebels in 
the same measure as their spirit of loyalty will direct, 
and as may be consistent with the safety of the loyal 
people. 

'^Eesolved, That we recognize the great principles laid 
down in the immortal Declaration of Independence, as 
the true foundation of democratic government ; and we 
hail with gladness every effort toward making these 
principles a living reality on every inch, of American 
soil." 

The nomination by this Convention of General Grant 
for the Presidency was but the ratification of that which 
had already been done by the people through the press, 
mass- meetings, and State conventions. The only divi- 
sion of the Convention was concerning the nomination 
of the Yice-President. It was altogether contrary to 
precedent that the nomination should be made from the 
same section of country from which the nomination for 
President was made. General Grant was from Illinois. 
Mr. Colfax was from Indiana. Other distinguished men 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 383 

were urged for tlie nomination for Yice-President, not 
only upon the ground of their own abilities and services 
in behalf of the country, but also upon the ground that 
the two highest offices in the gift of the people ought 
not to be conferred upon men from the same section of 
the country. Mr. Colfax had, however, been put in 
nomination by the convention of his own and several 
other States; and it soon became evident upon the bal- 
lotting that no other man could command a majority of 
the votes of the Convention. His nomination was upon 
the fifth ballot; and immediately made unanimous. 



CHAPTEE XXXIII. 

RECEPTION OF THE NOMINATIONS BY THE COUNTRY — 
FILIAL REGARD — SERENADE SPEECH OF MR. GOLFAX, 
MAY 22, 1868 — RESPONSE TO COMMITTEE OF CON- 
VENTION — LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE — PILLARS IN OUR 
TEMPLE OF LIBERTY — OUR COUNTRY'S FUTURE — CON- 
CLUSION. 

The telegraph at once flashed through all the land 
the tidings of the nominations. They were every- 
where hailed with delight and enthusiasm, and as pledges 
of a glorious victory in the great political conflict of 
the year. 

A despatch to Mr. Colfax very soon after his nomina- 
tion was made, announced it to him. He was surrounded 
by his associates at the Capitol, and their warm congratu- 
lations were poured upon him. But in apparent forget- 



384 L^f^ of Schuyler Colfax, 

fulness of himself, lie immediately gave the despatch to 
a messenger to take to his mother at the other end of 
the Avenue, remarking, "I know she is anxious to hear 
the result." This little incident of the filial regard of 
Schuyler Colfax for his mother reveals a feature of his 
character, which has pervaded his life from childhood, 
and has shed a lustre upon the qualities which have 
given him distinction and honor among men. It has 
been a theme which has frequently elicited the praise 
and admiration of letter-writers from Washington. 

Upon the night succeeding the day of their nomination 
by the Chicago convention, General Grant and Speaker 
Colfax were, each of them, serenaded at their residences 
in Washington, and called out to address the people. 
The following was the response of Mr. Colfax to the 
calls of the assemblage that had gathered before his 
dwelling : 

SERENADE SPEECH, May 22, 1868. 

" My Frten^ds : I thank you with all the emotions of 
a grateful heart, for this flattering manifestation of your 
confidence and regard, and I congratulate you on the 
auspicious opening of the eventful campaign on which 
we are entering. In the Chicago Convention, represent- 
ing the entire area of the Republic, every State, every 
territory, every district, and every delegate, from ocean 
to ocean, declared that their first and only choice for 
President was Ulysses S. Grant. [Great applause.] 
Brave and yet unassuming, reticent and yet, when neces- 
sary, firm as the eternal hills, [applause,] with every 
thought, and hope, and aspiration, for his country, with 
modesty only equalled by his merits, it is not extrava- 
gant for me to say that he is to-day, of all other men in 



Life of Schuyler Coif ay:, 385 

the land, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts 
of his countrymen. [Great applause.] His name is the 
very synonym of victory, and he will lead the Union 
hosts to triumph at the polls, as he led the Union armies 
to triumph in the field. 

"But greater even than the conqueror of Yicksburg 
and the destroyer of the rebellion is the glorious inspira- 
tion of our noble principles. We proclaim the sublime 
truths of the Declaration of Independence, and our 
banner bears an inscription more magnetic than the 
names of its standard-bearers, which the whole world 
can see as it floats to the breeze — ' Liberty and Loyalty, 
Justice and Public Safety.' 

Defying all prejudices, we are for uplifting the lowly 
and protecting the oppressed. [Applause.] History 
records, to the immortal honor of our organization, that 
it saved a nation and emancipated a race. We struck 
the fetter from the limbs of the slave, and lifted millions 
into the glorious sunlight of liberty. We placed the 
emancipated slave on his feet, as a man, and put into his 
right hand the ballot to protect his manhood and his 
rights. We staked our political existence on the recon- 
struction of the revolted States, on the sure and eternal 
corner-stone of loyalty, and we shall triumph. I know 
there is no holiday contest before us ; but with energy 
and zeal, with principles that humanity approves, and 
that I believe God will bless, we shall go through the 
contest, conquering and to conquer, and on the fourth day 
of March next the people's champion will be borne by 
the people's vote to yonder White House, that, I regret 
to say, is now dishonored by its unworthy occupant. 
Then, with peace and confidence, we may expect our 
beloved country to enter upon a career of prosperity 



386 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

exceeding t"be most brilliant triumphs of our past. I 
bid you God- speed in this work, and now good- night." 

On the 29th of May, Mr. Colfax was formally informed 
by the Committee appointed by the Chicago convention 
of his nomination for Yice-President. The following 
was his reply to General Hawley, Chairman of the Com- 
mittee, and the President of the Convention : 

" Mr. President Hawley and Gentlemen : History 
has already proclaimed that the victories of the party you 
represent during the recent war, always gave increased 
hope and confidence to the nation, while its reverses and 
defeats ever increased the national peril. It is no light 
tribute, therefore, to the millions of Republicans in the 
forty-two States and Territories represented in the Chi- 
cago Convention, that our organization has been so in- 
separably interwoven with the best interests of the 
Republic that the triumphs and reverses of the one have 
been the triumphs and reverses of the other. Since the 
General of our armies with his heroic followers crushed 
the rebellion, the key-note of its policy, that loyalty 
should govern what loyalty preserved, has been worthy 
of its honored record in the war. Cordially agreeing 
with the platform adopted by its national Convention, 
and the resolutions thereto attached, I accept the nomi- 
nation with which I have been honored, and will here- 
after communicate that acceptance to you in the more 
formal manner that usage requires." 

Upon the next day the following letter was sent to 
General Hawley: 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 387 

LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 

"Washington, D. C, May 30, 1868. 
"Hon. J. E. Hawley, 

*' Fresiclent of the National TTnion Republican Convention : 

"Deak Sir: The platform adopted by the patriotic 
Convention over which you presided, and the resolutions 
which so happily supplement it, so entirely agree with 
my views as to a just national policy, that my thanks 
are due to the delegates, as much for this clear and 
auspicious declaration of principles as for the nomina- 
tion with which I have been honored, and which I 
gratefully accept. 

" When a great rebellion, which imperilled the national 
existence, was at last overthrown, the duty of all others 
devolving on those intrusted with the responsibility 
of legislation evidently was to require that the revolted 
States should be readmitted to a participation in the 
Government against which they had warred, only on 
such a basis as to increase and fortify, not to weaken or 
endanger, the strength and power of the nation. Cer- 
tainly no one ought to have claimed that they should 
be readmitted under such rule that their organization 
as States could ever again be used, as at the opening of 
the war, to defy the national authority, or to destroy 
the national unity. This principle has been the pole- 
star of those who have inflexibly insisted on the Con- 
gressional policy which your Convention so cordially 
indorsed. 

"Baffled by Executive opposition and by the per- 
sistent refusals to accept any plan of reconstruction 
proposed by Congress, justice and public safety at last 



J 



88 Life of Schuyler Colfax 



combined to teach us that only by an enlargement of 
the suffrage in those States could the desired end be 
attained, and that it was even more safe to give the 
ballot to those who love the Union than to those who 
had sought ineffectually to destroy it. The assured 
success of this legislation is being written on the ada- 
mant of history, and will be our triumphant vindication. 
More clearly, too, than ever before does the nation now 
recognize that the greatest glory of a Republic is that it 
throws the shield of its protection over the humblest 
and weakest of its people, and vindicates the right of 
the poor and the powerless as faithfully as those of the 
rich and the powerful. 

"I rejoice, too, in this connection, to find in your 
platform the frank and fearless avowal that our natu- 
ralized citizens must be protected abroad at every 
hazard, as though they were native-born. Our whole 
people are foreigners or descendants of foreigners. Our 
fathers established by arms their right to be called a 
nation. It remains for us to establish the right to 
welcome to our shores all who are willing, by oaths of 
allegiance, to become American citizens. Perpetual 
allegiance, as claimed abroad, is only another name for 
perpetual bondage, and would make all slaves to the soil 
where first they saw the light. Our national cemeteries 
prove how faithfully these oaths of fidelity to their 
adopted land have been sealed in the life-blood of thou- 
sands upon thousands. Should we not then be faithless 
to the dead if we did not protect their living brethren 
in the full enjoyment of that nationality for which, side 
by side with the native-born, our soldiers of foreign 
birth laid down their lives? 

" It was fitting, too, that the representatives of a party 



■ Life of Schuyler Colfax. 389 

wLfcli had proved so true to national duty in time of 
war should speak so clearly in time of peace for the 
maintenance untarnished of the national honor, national 
credit, and good faith as regards its debt — the cost of our 
national existence. 

" I do not need to extend this reply by further comment 
on a platform which has elicited such hearty approval 
throughout the laud. The debt of gratitude it acknowl- 
edges to the brave men who saved the Union from 
destruction ; the frank approval of amnesty, based on 
repentance and loyalty ; the demand for the most rigid 
economy and honesty in the Government; the sympathy 
of the party of liberty with all throughout the world who 
long for the liberty we here enjoy ; and the recognition 
of the sublime principles of the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence, are worthy of the organization on whose banners 
they are to be written in the coming contest. Its past 
record cannot be blotted out or forgotten. If there had 
been no Republican party, slavery would to-day cast its 
baleful shadow over the Republic. If there had been no 
Republican party, free press and free speech would be 
as unknown from the Potomac to the Rio Grande as ten 
years ago. If the Republican party could have been 
stricken from existence when the banner of rebellion 
was unfurled, and when the response of 'no coercion* 
was heard at the North, we would have had no nation 
to-day. But for the Republican party, daring to risk 
the odium of tax and draft laws, our flag could not have 
been kept flying in the field until the long-hoped-for 
victory came. Without a Republican party the Civil 
Rights Bill — the guarantee of equality under the law to 
the humble and defenceless as well as to the strong — 
would not be to-day upon our national statute-book. 



2^o Life of Schuyler Colfax. 

"With sucli inspiration from the past, and following 
the example of the founders of the Kepublic, who called 
the victorious General of the Eevolution to preside over 
the land his triumphs had saved from its enemies, I can- 
not doubt that our labors will be crowned with success. 
And it will be a success that sball bring restored hope, 
confidence, prosperity, and progress. South as well as 
North, West as well as East, and above all, the blessings 
under Providence of National Concord and Peace. 

" Very truly yours, 

"Schuyler Colfax." 

General Grant is the embodiment of the virtues of the 
soldier. Speaker Colfax of the virtues of civil wisdom. 
As the pillars Jachin and Boaz in Solomon's temple 
were not only marvellous in beauty and glory, but the 
pillars of its strength — these names, beautiful and glo- 
rious in fame, are now the pillars of strength in our 
temple of liberty. 

The life of Mr. Colfax, traced through a rigid narra- 
tive of facts, is seen to have been unfolded from the 
germ of principle. It has been beautiful in its growth and 
symmetrical in its development. No internal weakness 
has permitted it to be marred in any of its parts ; no ex- 
ternal force has succeeded in rending away from it any 
of its extending glory; striking its roots down in rugged 
places, and growing to its height amid storm and tempest, 
it has yet been like a tree planted by the rivers of water, 
with unfading leaf and yielding its fruit in its season. 
Such a life reflects the glory of our Republican in- 
stitutions ; and as an ensample, it is a beacon of hope to 
every youth in the land. 

"In the cheerful face of the next Vice-President," 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 391 

writes one, "every young man feels his aspirations re- 
flected. The grandson of the guardsman over the tent 
of Washington, he is properly placed on the banners of 
the New Republic with the hero of the war for the 
Union. Every widow and every widow's son will feel in 
sympathy with Schuyler Colfax, whose obedient face is 
endeared to his mother as to his country. Every large 
and temperate patriotism will see in Colfax a bright star 
still ascendant, rising as upon the steps of the Capitol 
from noble to nobler use." 

Upon June 9th, 1868, in the Capitol of the nation, the 
strange sight was seen of the reception of an imposing 
embassy from the Celestial Empire, the first of its kind 
to the civilized world from that government of hundreds 
of millions of people, which has endured through so 
many of the ages of the world, and is so rich and unique 
in its products and arts. The strange scene and the 
words of welcome addressed to the embassy by the 
Speaker of the House, awaken thronging thoughts of 
the wonderful future of our country. The following were 
the words of the Speaker upon the occasion : 

''Your Excellencies: The House of Representa- 
tives intermits its ordinary labors to day to receive in 
this hall the Embassy which the oldest nation of the 
world has commissioned to America and Europe; and, 
in the name of the people of the United States, we bid 
you welcome. Spanning a continent in our area, from 
the Bay of Fundy to the granite portals of the Golden 
Gate, v.^e turn our faces from the fatherland of Europe 
to clasp hands, in closer relations than ever before, with 
those who come to us from that continent which was the 
birth-place of mankind. Nor does it lessen our pleasure 



9^,2 Life of Schuyler Colfax, 

that the chief of this Embassy, transferred, as he was, 
from membership here to diplomatic duties abroad, so 
won the confidence of his Imperial Majesty, to whom he 
was accredited, that he returns to our midst honored, 
with his distinguished associates, as the custodians of the 
most remarkable trust ever committed by an Emperor 
to his Envoys. 

" This Embassy of the Chinese Empire, which has at- 
tracted such universal attention, has been hailed through- 
out our land, not only as marking an onward step in the 
world's history, but as being of peculiar interest to this 
Republic. With our Western States fronting the same 
Pacific sea on which the millions of China have looked, 
ages before our country was born into the family of na- 
tions — with our Pacific Railroad rapidly approaching 
completion, and destined, with the steamers plying from 
its termini, east and west, to become the highway of com- 
merce between Asia and Europe — with our possessions 
on the Pacific slope, nearest of all the great nations to 
the Empire from which you come, we hail your ap- 
pearance at this Capitol as the augury of closer com- 
mercial and international intercourse. Wishing you as 
cordial a greeting wherever you may go, on the Thames 
and on the Seine, the Danube and the Rhine, the Baltic 
and the Adriatic, I give you again an earnest and a 
heartfelt welcome." 

If, as a people, we are true to the principles of our 
fathers and the principles of righteousness by which 
the Most High governs the nations of the earth, who 
can tell what shall be the greatness and the glory of 
this land of ours, so vast in its area, so situated amid 
the great waters and continents of the globe, the destined 



Life of Schuyler Colfax, 3^3 

highway of Europe and the Far East ? The life of Mr. 
Colfax throughout has been pervaded with those princi- 
ples. And we have no more fitting conclusion for this 
volume than words of his, referring, in a speech at Lan- 
sing, Michigan, June, 1867, to the motto inscribed, by 
the policy of Congress, upon the banner of the land : 
"Justice for all men in this American Eepublic." 

" I believe that God, who sitteth upon the Throne, who 
is the friend of the oppressed and the enemy of the op- 
pressor, will, as He looks down upon this land which Pie 
has so peculiarly favored with the thronging triumphs 
of the past, bless us as we rally around that principle 
and incorporate it, too, in our national, supreme law. 
And then, standing proudly eminent above the nations 
of the Old World, the despotisms which, I trust, are 
weakening, thank God, in this day of liberty, of light 
and of progress, we can invite them to look upon this Ee- 
public of ours, where from shore to shore there shall be 
no man so humble, no man so down-trodden, no man so 
despised, no man so oppressed, but that he can point to 
our National Banner and say : * Poor though I am in all 
things else, that is my birthright ; that is my shield.' 

'' And the American people, having thus consummated 
this great work of reconstruction, following appropriately 
upon the victory won by our national armies ; having 
established this nation upon these eternal and immutable 
principles of liberty and justice to all, I look forward 
to a prosperity awaiting us, more brilliant than all our 
glorious history in the past ; not confined to us of the 
North, not confined to us of the West, but in which ilte 
South shall fully and richly share. When the Southern 
people yield themselves honestly and in good faith to 
those demands upon which, as security for the future, 
security for the Union, s( 'urity for all its people — the 



394 ^^f^ rf Schuyler Colfax, 

loyal and victorious portion of tliis Republic have a 
]'ight to insist; when they cultivate a devotion to the 
Union, instead of the lost cause ; and reconcile them- 
selves to the new system of industry, by which the land, 
which has been poisoned by the sweat of unpaid labor, 
shall bloom and blossom under the energy and vigor of 
labor remunerated and made honorable, I look to see a 
new and brighter era open upon the South. With a 
more genial climate than we have in the colder North ; 
with a wider range of production, for they have indi- 
genous to their soil the great staples of the world, cotton, 
tobacco, sugar and rice ; with water-power exhaustless, 
though yet unimproved, leaping down from the mountain 
sides to the sea, marking the future locations of teem- 
ing and busy industrial manufactories ; the regenerated 
South, with its loins girt anew for the race of progress 
and prosperity, will rival us in our march to wealth and 
greatness and power. Then, when to North and to South 
alike, the wrongs and oppressions of the past shall seem 
as a horrid dream; when your children will ask you 
with wonder, whether it was possible that in years gone 
by, men were mobbed, and tarred and feathered, and 
hung, for simply saying that they preferred liberty to 
slavery in the United States, and when you will confess 
to them that this was really so in the darker days of the 
Republic; then, in the brighter light of liberty and 
justice, North and South shall go together, clasped hand 
in hand, rivals only in the triumphal march of national 
progress, united with one heart in the great work of 
making this Republic the noblest, the purest, the truest, 
as it will be the richest land beneath the circuit of the 
sun." 

THE END. 



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all can read, containing One Hundred and Eigliiij I llunt rations on tinted 
paper, and each book is complete in one large duodecimo vohime. 



Our Mutual Friend, Cloth, $1.50 

Pickwick Papers, Cloth, 1.50 

Nicholas Nickleby, Cloth, 1.50 

Great Expectations, Cloth, 1.50 

David Copperfield, Cloth, 1.50 

Oliver Twist, Cloth, 1.50 

Bleak House, Cloth, 1.50 

A Tale of Two Cities,,. ..Cloth, 1.50 



Little Dorrit, Cloth, $1.50 

Dombey and Son, Cloth, 1.50 

Christmas Stories, Cloth, 1.50 

Sketches by " Boz," Cloth, 1.50 

Barnaby Rudge, Cloth, 1.50 

Martin Chuzzlcwit, Cloth, 1.50 

Old Curiosity Shop, Cloth, 1.50 

Dickens' New Stories,... .Cloth, 1.50 



American Notes; and The Uncommercial Traveler, Cloth, 1.50 

Hunted Down; and other Reprinted Pieces, Cloth, 1.50 

The Holly-Tree Inn; and other Stories, Cloth, 1.50 

Price of a set, in Black cloth, in nineteen volumes, $28.00 

" *' Full sheep. Library style, 38.00 

" " Half calf, sprinkled ed-es, 47.00 

" " Half calf, marbled edge,-^, 53.00 

" " Half calf, antique, 57.00 

" " Half calf, full gilt back.-, etc., 67.00 

ILLUSTRATED DUODECIMO EDITION. 

Reduced in price from $2.00 to $1.50 a volume. 

This edition is p)rinted on the finest ^^rtp«?>-, /ronj large, clear t^jpe, leaded, 
Long Primer in size, that all can read, the tvhole contaiviitg near Six 
Hundred full p'cje Illustrations, printed on tinted jxqjcr, from designs hy 
Cruikshaiik, Phiz, Broione, Maclise, McLenan, and other artists. The fol- 
lowing books are each contained in tivo volumes. 

Our Mutual Friend, Cloth, $3.00 

Pickwick Papers Cloth, 3.00 

Tale of Two Cities, Cloth, 3.00 



Nicholas Nickleby, Cloth, 3.00 

David Copperfield, Cloth, 3.00 

Oliver Twi.-t, Cloth, 3.00 

Christmas Stories, Cloth, 3.00 



Bleak House, Cloth, $3.00 

Sketches by "Boz," Cloth, 3.00 

Barnaby Rudge, Cloth, 3.00 

Martin "Chuzzlewit Cloth, 3.00 

Old Curiosity Shop, Cloth, 3.00 

Little Dorrit Cloth, 3.00 

Dombey and Son, Cloth, 3.00 



The following are each complete in one volume, and are reduced in price 
from $2.50 to $1.50 a volume. 

Great Expectations, Cloth, $1.50 | Dickens' New Stories, ...Cloth, $1.50 

American Notes; and The Uncommercial Traveler, Cloth, 1.50 

Hunted Down; and other Reprinted Pieces, Cloth, 1.50 

The Holly-Tree Inn ; and other Stories, Cloth, 1.50 

Irice of a set, in thirty-three volumes, bound in cloth, $49.00 

" " Full sheep. Library style, 66.00 

" " Half calf, antique, 99.00 

" « Half calf, full gilt backs, etc., 99.00 



1^" Books sent, postage paid, on receipt of the Retail Price, by 

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T. B. PETEESOIT & BEOTHEHS' PXTBLICATIOI^S. 8 



CHARLES DICKENS' WORKS. 

ILLUSTSATED OCTAVO EDITIOI^. 

Reduced in ]) rice from $2.50 to $2.00 a volume. 

This edition is 2>rinted from large type, double column, octavo x>age, each 

book being complete in one volume, the tohole containing near Six Hundred 

Illustrations, by Gruikshank, Phiz, Browne, Maelise, and other artists. 



Our Mutual Friend, Cloth, $2.00 

Pickwick Papers, ..Cloth, 2.00 

Nicholas Nickleby, Cloth, 2.00 

Great Expectations, Cloth, 2.0U 

Lamplighter's Story,. ...Cloth, 2.00 

Oliver Twist, Cloth, 2.00 

Bleak House, Cloth, 2.00 

Little Dorrit, Cloth, 2.00 

Dombey and Son, Cloth, 2.00 

Sketches by " Boz," Cloth, 2.00 



David Copperlieia, Cloth, $2.00 

Barnaby Rudge, Cloth, 2.00 

Martin Chuzzlewit, Cloth, 2.00 

Old Curiosity Shop, Cloth, 2.00 

Christmas Stories Cloth, 2.00 

Dickens' New Stories,... Cloth, 2.00 

A Tale of Two Cities,. ..Cloth, 2.00 
American Notes and 

Pic-Nic Papers, Cloth, 2.00 



i.OO 



Price of a set, in Black cloth, in eighteen volumes, 

" " Full sheep, Library style, 45.00 

" " Half calf, sprinkled edges, 55.00 

" " Half calf, marbled edges, 62.00 

" " Half calf, antique, 70.00 

" " Half calf, full gilt backs, etc., 70.00 

THE ''NEW NATIOHAL EDITION." 
This is the cheapest complete edition of the works of Charles Dickens, 
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making nearly six, thousand very large double columned pages, in large, clear 
type, and handsomely printed on fine white paper, and bound in the 
strongest and most substantial manner. 

Price of a set, in Black cloth, in seven volumes, $20.00 

" " Full sheep, Library style, 25.00 

" " Half calf, antique, .30.00 

" " Half calf, full gilt back, etc., 30.00 

CHEAP SALMON PAPER COYER EDITION. 



Each book being comjjlete in one large octavo volui 



Pickwick Papers, 25 

Nicholas Nickleby, 25 

Dombey and Son, 25 

David Copperfield, 25 

Martin Chuzzlewit, 25 

Old Curiosity Shop, 25 

Oliver Twist, 25 

American Notes, 25 

Great Expectations, 25 

Hard Times, 25 

A Tale of Two Cities, 25 

Somebody's Luggage, 25 

Message from the Soa, 25 

Barnaby Budge, 25 

Sketches by"Boz," 25 



Christmas Stories, 25 

The Haunted House, 25 

Uncommercial Traveler, 25 

A House to Let, 25 

Perils of English Prisoners, 25 

Wreck of the Golden Mar>, 25 

Tom Tiddler's Ground, 25 

Our Mutual Friend, 35 

Bleak House, 35 

Little Dorrit, 35 

Joseph Grimaldi, 50 

The Pic-Nic Papers, 50 

No Thoroughfare 10 

Hunted Down, 25 

The Holly-Tree Inn, 25 



Mrs. Lirriper's Lodgings and Mrs. Lirriper's Legacy, 25 

Mugby Junction and Dr. Marigold's Prescriptions, 25 



^" Books sent, postage paid, on receipt of the Retail Price, by 
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75 




75 




75 




75 




75 




75 




75 




75 



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Belle of Washington, 1 50 

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The Matchmaker, ] 60 

Love and Money, 1 50 



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Life of Hon. Schuyler Colfax. By Rev. A. Y. Moore, of South Bend, 
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Comstock's Elocution and Reader. Enlarged. By Andrew Comstock 
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Kni^rht of Gwynne, ,.. 75 

Arthur O'Leary, 75 

Con Cregan, 75 

Davenport Dunn, 75 



Above are each in paper, or finer edition in cloth, price $2.00 each. 
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Do. cloth, 



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in one volume, cloth,..., 5 



2 00 



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MISS PARDOE'S WORKS. 



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The five above books are also bound in one volume, cloth, for $4.00. 
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MRS. HENRY 

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Mildred Arkcll, 1 50 

Shadow of Ashlydyat, 1 50 

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Verner's Pride, 1 50 

Above are each in paper cover, or 

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Above arc each in paper cover, m- 

The Channing« 1 00 

Above are each in paper cover, or 

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Orville College 5'^ 

The Runaway Match, 50 

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The Haunted Tower, 50 



or, 



1 50 



50 



50 



50 



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the Earl's Heirs, 

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Trcvlyn Hold, 1 

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each one in cloth, for $1.75 each. 

I A Life's Secret, 

each one in cloth, for $1.00 each. 

I Aurora Floyd, , 75 

each one in cloth, for $1.50 each. 

The Lost Bank Note, 7"> 

Better for Worse, 7.'> 

Foggy Night at OfTord, 25 

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AVilliam Allair 25 

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Twenty Years After, ^. 75 

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The above arc each in paper cover 

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Felina de Chambure, 75 

The Horrors of Paris, 75 

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Sketches in France, 75 

Isabel of Bavaria, 75 

Count of Moret,... 



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Queen's iN'ecklace, 1 

Six Years Lnter, 1 

Countess of Cliarney, I 

Andrce de Taverney, 1 



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Forty -five Guardsmen, 

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Oamille, "The Camelia Lady/ 
or in cloth, price $1.75 each. 

Man with Five Wives, 

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50 I George, 60 | Buried Alive, 



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a. K. PHILAKBER DGESTICKS' WORKS. 

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The above are each in paper cover, or in cloth, price $L75 e;u h. 
Nothing to Say, cloth, 



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The Red Track 



50 

, 75 

75 

75 

75 

75 

Pirates of the Prairies, 75 



TrapixT's Diui.uhter,. 
The Ti.uer Slayer,.... 

The Gold Seekers, 

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The Smuggler Chief,. 
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Curror Lylc, the Actress 

Secession, Coercion, and Civil 
AVar 

The Cabin and Parlor. By J. 

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French Policeman, 



Tho Refugee, 1 50 

Life of Don Quixotte, 1 00 

Wilfred Montressor, 1 50 

ILirris's Adventures in Africa,. 1 50 

Wild Southern Scenes, 1 60 

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Above arc each in paper cover, or each one in cloth, for $L75 each. 

Whitefriars; or, The Days of Charles the Second. Illustrated, 1 

Southern Life; or. Inside Views of Shivery, " 1 

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Political Lyrics. New Hampshire and Nebraska. Illustrated 

The Married Woman's Private Medical Companion, bound in cloth,. 1 



00 

00 
00 
00 

00 
75 
75 
50 



75 



75 



(SW Books sent, postage paid, on receipt of the Hctail Pric^, by 
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Venetia Trelawney, 1 00 

Lord Saxondale, 1 00 

Count Christoval, 1 00 

Rosa Lambert, 1 00 



Mary Price, 

EusUice Qr.enlin, 

Joseph Wiliuot 

Banker's Daughter,... 
Kenneth, 

The Rye-House Plot, 
The Necromancer,.,.. 



The above are each in paper cover, or in cloth, price $1.75 each. 



The Opera Dancer, 75 

Child of Waterloo, 75 

Robert Bruce, 75 

Discarded Queen, ..., 75 

The Gipsy Chief, 75 

Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots,... 75 

Wallace, Hero of Scotland, 1 00 



Isabella Vincent, 

Vivian Bertram, 

Countess of Lascelles,. 
Loves of the Harem,.. 

Ellen Percy,.." 

Agnes Evelyn, 



The Soldier's Wife, 

?Iay Middleton, 

Duke of Marehmont, 

•Massacre of Glencoe, 

Queen Joanna; Court Naples, 

Pickwick Abroad, 

Parricide, 

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Ciprina; or. Secrets of a Pic- 
ture Gallery, 

Life in Paris, 

Countess and the Page, 

Edf^ar Montrose, 



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The Abbot, 50 

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BY SIE WALTER SCOTT. 



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of Montrose, 50 

Castle Dangerous, and Sur- 
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Moredun. ATaleofl210, 50 I Scott's Poetical Works, 5 00 

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... 60 



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Banditti of the Prairie, 75 

Tom Racquet, 75 

Red Indians of Newfoundland, 75 

Salathiel, by Croly, 76 

Corinne; or, Italy, 75 

Ned Musgrave 76 

Aristocracy, 75 

Inquisition in Spain, 75 

Flirtations in America 76 

The Coquette, 75 

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Whitehall, 76 

The Beautiful Nun, 75 

Father Clement, paper, 60 

do. do. cloth, 75 

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do. do. cloth, 75 



Mysteries of Three Cities, 75 

Gcnevra, 75 

New Hope; or, the Ptescue, 75 

Nothing to Say, 75 

The Greatest Plague of Life,.. 50 

Cliiford and the Actress, 50 

Two Lovers, 50 

Ryan's Mysteries of Marriage, 50 

The Fortune Hunter, 50 

The Orphan Sisters, 50 

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Victims of Amusements, 60 

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LIPE OF ANDREW JOHNSON. 

THE LIFE, SPEECHES, AND SERVICES OP ANDRE^W JOHN- 
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IMPEACHMENT OP ANDREW JOHNSON. 

THE GREAT IMPEACHMENT AND TRIAL OF ANDREW 
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TRIAL AND EXECUTION OP THE ASSASSINS. 

TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF THE ASSASSINS AND CONSPI. 
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PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN. It is a full and verbatim Report of the Testimony 
of all the Witnesses examined, with the Arguments of Counsel on both sides; the Ver- 
dict of the Military Commission ; the President's approval of it ; the E.xecutiou and 
scenes on tbe scafiFold ; with a sketch of the Life of all the Conspirators, and Portraits 
and Illustrative Engravings of all the pi-incipal persons and scenes relating to the murder 
and trial. Price Fifty cents a copy, in paper cover, or a much finer edition, for the li- 
brary, is issued, bound in cloth. Price $1.50. Agents will be supplied with the Fifty 
cent edition at $3.50 a dozen, twenty-five copies for $7.00, fifty copies for $13.00, or $25.00 
a hundred ; or the finer edition in cloth at $12.00 a dozen, or twenty-five copies, or 
over, at Ninety cents each, or $75.00 a hundred. 

LIPE OP GENERAL GEORGE B. McCLELLAN. 

THE LIPE, CAMPAIGNS, REPORTS, BATTLES, AND PUBLIC 
SERVICES OF GENERAL GEORGE B. McCLELLAN, the HERO 
OF WESTERN VIRGINIA! SOUTH MOUNTAIN! and ANTIETAM. With his Portrait. 
Complete in one large volume. Price Fifty cents in paper cover, or Seventy-five cents iu 
cloth. Agents will be supplied with the Fifty cent edition at $3.50 a dozen, twenty-five 
copies for $7.00, fifty copies for $13.00, or $25.00 a hundred ; or with the cloth edition 
at $5.50 a dozen, twenty-five copies for $11.00, Fifty copies for $20.00, or $37.50 a hundred. 

LIPE OP ARCHBISHOP HUGHES. 

THE LIFE OP ARCHBISHOP HUGHES, first Archbishop of New York. 
With a full account of his Life, Death, and Burial. With his Portrait. Price Twenty- 
five cents. Agents will be supplied at $1.50 a dozen, or Ten Dollars a hundred. 
Above books are published and for sale at the Cheapest Book House in the world to buy 

or send for a stock of any kinds of books you may wish, which is at 

T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERSj 

No. 306 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 

To whom all orders and remittances must come addressed to meet with prompt attention. 

Any of the above books will be sent per mail, post-paid, on receipt of retail price by us. 

WANTED. — Agents and Canvassers are wanted in every county, town, and village in the 
United States, to engage in selling the above fast selling books. Large wages can be made. 



MOORE'S LIFE OP HOH: SCHUYLER COLFAX. 

THli] LIFE OF HOISr. SCHUYL.WH COIiFAX. By the Kev. A. Y. Moore, 
of isoucli Beud, Indiana, who was tor twelve years, as pastor aud frieud, iu the entire 
confidence of Mr. Colfax, and had access to the files of the paper published by Mr. Colfax 
for twenty years, and to the Congressional Globe ; knows ail his past history and all 
wlio ]};ive known him from boyhood. He began this biography two or three years ago, 
.s>) thai it is not one of the hurried and ephemeral pubiicatioust^o common iu eleciiou years. 
The following letter from Mr. Colfax, to Kev. A.. Y. Moore, will explain itself: 

«';1/^ Dear Mr. Moore:- "Washington, D. C, May 80, 186S. 

" As your prediction of a year ago has been realized, I have no further objectiou to your 
publishing any sketch, more or less full, of my life, you may have piepared. As you were 
for a dozen years a fellow-townsman of mine, and a valued friend, I suppose you know as 
much about my history as the public would care about knowing; and akhuugh my en- 
grossing duties here leave me no time to revise the manuscript, I have no fear that your 
work will not be a faithful one. "Yours, very truly, " SCHUYLER COLFAX." 

"Kev. A. Y. Moore, South Bend, Indiana." 

The whole of the above is published in a large duodecimo volume of several hundred pages, 
printed from large type, and on the finest and best of white paper, with a perfect life-like 
portrait, on steel, of Mr. Colfax, executed by lUman Brothers, the well known Philadelphia 
engravers, which has been pronounced by members of Congress and personal friends of 
Jlr. Colfax, who have seen it, to be the most perfect likeness ever taken of him, as well as a 
Profile bust, in gilt, on the back, the whole done from photographs taken of Mr. Colfax 
within the last month. This work is bound in cloth in the most substantial manner. Price 
SL-W a copy. Canvassers and Agents are wanted everywhere to engage in its sale, who 
will be supplied at the following low rates, for vet caslt, or itiyht draft ivith order, viz. : 12 
copies at one-third ofi", or $12.00 ; 2.> copies at Ninety-five cents each ; 50 copies or over, at 
Ninety cents each. Circulars, subscription lists, and show-cards gratis. 

"GRAISTT AND COLFAX."— CAMPAIGN EDITION. 

THE LIVES OF GENERAL GRANT AND HON. SCHUYLER 
COLFAX. (JninjKu'g.'i EdLlion. With life-like portraits of General Ulysses S. Grant 
and Hon. Schuyler Colfax, and other illustrative engravings. This work contains a 
complete history of the Lives of Ulysses S. Grant aud of Hon. Schuyler Colfiix, from 
their birth up to tlie present time. Complete in one large duodecimo volume of four 
hundred closely printed pages. Price One Dollar in cloth ; or Seventy-five cents in paper 
cover. Agents will be supplied with the paper cover edition at Five Dollars a dozen, 
twenty-five copies for $10.00, fifty copies for $20.00, or $37.50 a hundred; or with the 
cloth edition at $3.00 a dozen, twenty-five copies for $15.00, fifty copies for $28.00, or 
$55.00 a hundred. 

LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

ILLUSTRATED LIFE, SERVICES, MARTYRDOM, AND FUNE- 
RAL OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Sixteenth President of the United States. 
With a full history of his Life ; Assassination ; Death, and Funeral. His career as a 
Lawyer and Politician ; his .services in Congress ; with his Speeches, Proclamations, 
Acts, and services as President of the United States, and Commander-in-Chief of the 
Army and Navy, from the time of his first inauguration as President of the United 
States until the night of his Assassination. Only new and complete edition, with a full 
history of the assassination of the President. With a Portrait of President Lincoln, 
and other Illustrative Engravings of the scene of the assassination, etc. Price $1.50 
in paper, or $1.75 in cloth. Agents will be supplied with the paper cover edition at 
Ten Dollars a dozen, fifty copies for Forty Dollars, or $75.00 a hundred; or with 
the cloth edition at $12.50 a dozen, twenty-five copies for $25.00, fifty copies for $48.00, 
or Ninety Dollars a hundred. 

LIFE OF GENERAL GEORGE G. MEADE. 

THE LIFE AND SERVICES OF GENERAL GEORGE G. MEADE. 

the Hero of "Gettysburg." With, his Portrait. Price Twenty-five cents. Agents will 
- be supplied at $1.50 a dozen, or Ten Dollars a hundred. 

LIFE OF GENERAL BENJAMIN F. BUTLER. 

THE LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF GENERAL BENJA- 
MIN F. BUTLER, the Hero of "New Orleans." With his Portrait. Price 
Twenty five cents. Agents will be supplied at $1.50 a dozen, or Ten Dollai-s a hundred. 
Above books are published and for sale at the Cheapest Book House in the world to buy 

or send for a stock of any kinds of books you may wish, which is at 

T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS, 

No. 306 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 

h whom all orders and remittances must come addres.sed to meet with prompt attention. 

Any of the above books will be sent per mail, post-paid, on receipt of retail price by us. 

WANTED. — Agents and Canvassers are wanted in every county, town, and village in the 
luited States, to engage in selli{K;.th^L%k)V6^Bt selling books. Large wages can be made 

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